The Secret Of Sherlock Holmes, York Theatre Royal, March 23 to 27 (From York Press)

The Secret Of Sherlock Holmes, York Theatre Royal, March 23 to 27

1:21pm Friday 19th March 2010 in

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Peter Egan and Philip Franks clicked together so well as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in a tour of The Hound Of The Baskervilles that director Robin Herford has reunited them for The Secret Of Sherlock Holmes.

During that first engagement, theatre director Patrick Garland gave Peter a copy of Jeremy Paul’s script for the Secret show, a play Garland had directed in the West End 20 years earlier when it was written as a vehicle for Jeremy Brett and ran with huge success in London for a year.

“At the time, I wasn’t that interested in doing it as I was already playing Holmes, so we put it away for three years and then I was asked again and Philip and I thought what a good idea it would be,” says Peter.

“Especially as it was a two-hander, where you very much rely on your partner, whereas the other play had a cast of five.”

And so the old team of Herford, Egan and Franks reunited for a tour that arrives at York Theatre Royal on Tuesday.

“Though it did feel like getting back on the bike again, you do start from square one and you have to rediscover Holmes’s character,” says Peter.

“It’s different from Clive Francis’s script for The Hound Of The Baskervilles in that this is very much a psychological thriller dealing with the internal Holmes, whereas the previous piece was dealing with the exterior world around him.”

The Secret Of Sherlock Holmes is dark and humorous, a winning formula with audiences in the first month of the tour.

“Everyone has absolutely loved it,” says Peter. “There’s a huge affection for Holmes and Watson, and that’s partly because the audience is in the comfort of certainty that Holmes will solve a crime and will be amusingly aided by Watson, though Watson is much more three-dimensional in this play, rather than just being a foil.”

Through playing Holmes, Peter has learned how audiences most appreciate the detective’s dry certainty.

“In the first half of the play, you see Holmes going through a process that shows his skills of perception and logic and the audience love to see him do that,” he says.

Likewise, they enjoy watching a double act at work and play, an enjoyment shared by the actors.

“The pleasures lie in being on stage with someone you have total confidence in and you know you can pass a ball as it will come back to you,” says Peter. “Sometimes you may throw it with a twist but it will still come back.

“Then there’s another important thing with trust, where you know your partner will not pick your pocket on stage or upstage you by turning their back on you and winking at the audience.

“Instead there’s a very comfortable feeling because the audience know the characters and the two actors know each other so well.”

• The Secret Of Sherlock Holmes, York Theatre Royal from Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus Thursday matinee at 2pm and Saturday at 2.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568.