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The Mind of Sherlock Holmes
In his adaptation, Stephan has delved deep into the psychology of the Great Detective, examining the stresses and twists that are often the characteristic of a great intellect.
There is a lot of basis for questioning the apparent assurance and self-confidence of Holmes. For example, here is a list of quotes from the original stories:
“How slow-witted I have been, and how nearly I have committed the blunder of my lifetime!”
“I get in the dumps at times, and don't open my mouth for days on end. You must not think I am sulky when I do that. Just let me alone, and I'll soon be right.”
“My well of English seems to be permanently defiled.”
“What has become of any brains that God has given me?”
“That hurts my pride, Watson. It is a petty feeling, no doubt, but it hurts my pride.”
“I have been beaten four times - three times by men and once by a woman.”
“I think, Watson, that you are now standing in the presence of one of the absolute fools in Europe .”
“Would you be afraid to sleep in the same room with a lunatic, a man with softening of the brain, an idiot whose mind has lost its grip?”
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A Collector of Women (Stephan Drury) |
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)
Physician, novelist, and detective-story writer, the creator of the unforgettable master sleuth Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle, was born on May 22, 1859, in Edinburgh and educated at Stonyhurst College and the University of Edinburgh .
From 1882 to 1890 he practiced medicine in Southsea. A Study in Scarlet, the first of 68 stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, appeared in 1887. The characterisation of Holmes, his ability of ingenious deductive reasoning, was based on one of the author's own university professors. Equally brilliant creations are those of Holmes’ foils: his friend Dr. Watson, the good-natured if bumbling narrator of the stories, and the master criminal Professor Moriarty.
Conan Doyle was so immediately successful in his literary career that approximately five years later he abandoned his medical practice to devote his entire time to writing. Some of the best known of the Holmes stories are The Sign of Four (1890), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), and His Last Bow (1917). They made Conan Doyle internationally famous and served to popularise the detective-story genre.
After the death of his eldest son in the Great War (1914-1918), he became an advocate of spiritualism, lecturing and writing extensively on the subject, until his death in 1930.
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Cast and Crew |
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Stephan Drury:
Holmes
Philip Steward:
Watson
Steven Digby:
Baron
Claire Worland:
Violet
Ann Courtney:
Kitty Wendy Smith:
Director
Mark Lancaster:
Stage Manager
Suzanne Webb:
A.S.M
John Morley:
Lighting
Annie Bielecka / Jane Snowdon:
Wardrobe
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