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The Speckled Band(play)

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The Speckled Band
Written bySir Arthur Conan Doyle
CharactersSherlock Holmes
Dr. Watson
Date premieredJune 4, 1910(1910-06-04)[1]
Place premieredAdelphi Theatre
London,England
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
SettingLondon, England

The Speckled Bandis a 1910 play in three acts[2]bySir Arthur Conan Doyle,based on his own 1892 short story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band".[1]

Background[edit]

In 1909, Conan Doyle had leased theAdelphi Theatreat his own expense for a production of a boxing drama[1]entitledThe House of Temperleywhich was an adaptation of his novelRodney Stone.[2]While the play was initially a success, the death of King Edward VII caused West End theatres to close for a month in mourning[1]The closing spelled the demise of the play.[1]To recoup his loses and do something with an empty theatre he had leased, Conan Doyle decided to stage a new play.[1]Keeping in mind thatWilliam Gillettehad achieved great success with his playSherlock Holmes,which was based on an earlier Conan Doyle script,[3]Conan Doyle wrote his own Sherlock Holmes play in a week.[1]

"I shut myself up and devoted my whole mind to making a sensational Sherlock Holmes drama. I wrote it in a week and called itThe Speckled Bandafter the short story of that name. I do not think I exaggerate if I say that within a fortnight of the one play shutting down I had a company working upon the rehearsals of a second one, which had been written in the interval. It was a considerable success. "[4]

Conan Doyle made some alterations to the names of his characters, with Roylott becoming Rylott, and Julia Stoner becoming Violet Stoner.[5]

Casting[edit]

Conan Doyle hired an actor with a great deal of experience as Sherlock Holmes;H. A. Saintsburyhad toured the Gillette play[6]and was on the verge of his 1,000th performance in the role.[1]Lyn Hardingwas cast to play Dr. Rylott and also direct the play, a decision Conan Doyle quickly came to regret.[1]Over the course of many rehearsals, Harding slowly transformed the character into a more idiosyncratic character which infuriated Conan Doyle.[1]Harding desired for Rylott to be more central to the story whereas Conan Doyle wanted less of his presence.[2]J. M. Barriewas invited to view the rehearsals and provide an opinion as he was friends with both Harding and Conan Doyle.[1]Harding's interpretation carried the day with Barrie saying "Let Harding have his own way."[1]

Production[edit]

The play premiered on 4 June 1910.[7]The play was an immediate success and Harding's performance was adored by critics.[1]Proven wrong, Conan Doyle sent Harding a letter of congratulations.[1]Over time, Conan Doyle came to appreciate Harding's performance.

"Lyn Harding, as the half-epileptic and wholly formidable Doctor Grimesby Rylott, was most masterful, while Saintsbury as Sherlock Holmes was also very good. Before the end of the run, I had cleared off all that I had lost upon the other play, and I had created a permanent property of some value. It became a stock piece and is even now touring the country."[4]

The snake used in performances was less appreciated.

"We had a fine rock boa to play the title-rôle, a snake which was the pride of my heart, so one can imagine my disgust when I saw that one critic ended his disparaging review by the words, 'The crisis of the play was produced by the appearance of a palpably artificial serpent.' I was inclined to offer him a goodly sum if he would undertake to go to bed with it. The real fault of the play was that in trying to give Holmes a worthy antagonist I overdid it and produced a more interesting personality in the villain. The terrible ending was also against it."[4]

The Speckled Bandran for 169 performances at the Adelphi Theatre[1]before enjoying a successful tour in England and the continent.[1]

Autumn of 1910 brought the production toBoston,Massachusetts[8]and laterNew York City,New Yorkwith Harding continuing in as Rylott but Holmes recast with Charles Millward taking the role.[9]

Cast[edit]

Revivals[edit]

In 1914, theChicago,Illinoisproduction cast H. Cooper Cliffe in the role of Holmes with Harding continuing as Rylott.[11]There was a London revival in 1921[9]with H. A. Saintsbury returning to the role of Holmes.[9]

Film adaptation[edit]

The play was adapted to film in 1931 asThe Speckled Bandwith Lyn Harding repeating his role as Dr. Grimesby Rylott and starringRaymond Masseyas Sherlock Holmes.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghijklmnopBoström 2018,pp. 147–148.
  2. ^abcBunson 1997,pp. 246–247.
  3. ^Boström 2018,p. 102.
  4. ^abcStarrett 1993,pp. 145–146.
  5. ^Barnes 2002,p. 196.
  6. ^Boström 2018,p. 115.
  7. ^Redmond 2009,p. 114.
  8. ^DeWaal 1974,p. 366.
  9. ^abcRedmond 2009,p. 221.
  10. ^abcdEyles 1986,p. 130.
  11. ^DeWaal 1974,p. 367.
  12. ^Bunson 1997,p. 247.

Sources[edit]

  • Barnes, Alan(2002).Sherlock Holmes on Screen.Reynolds & Hearn Ltd.ISBN1-903111-04-8.
  • Boström, Mattias (2018).From Holmes to Sherlock.Mysterious Press.ISBN978-0-8021-2789-1.
  • Bunson, Matthew(1997).Encyclopedia Sherlockiana.Simon & Schuster.ISBN0-02-861679-0.
  • DeWaal, Ronald Burt (1974).The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes.Bramhall House. p.367.ISBN0-517-217597.
  • Eyles, Allen (1986).Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration.Harper & Row.ISBN0-06-015620-1.
  • Redmond, Christopher (2009).Sherlock Holmes Handbook: Second Edition.Dundurn Press.ISBN9781459718982.
  • Starrett, Vincent(1993).The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.Otto Penzler Books.ISBN1-883402-05-0.
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