A comedy spoof version of a classic Sherlock Holmes thriller is part of the summer drama season at Sheringham Little Theatre. And the play’s director Nick Earnshaw has been doing some sleuthing of his own - into the original play’s North Norfolk links. 

The summer show will see a trio of actors give a new twist to the Hound of the Baskervilles, using multiple costume changes, slapstick humour, fun and clever effects.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s well-known dark murder mystery goes back 123 years when it was first printed in the Strand magazine. It was set on the murky moors of the West Country, but its inspiration came months earlier when Conan Doyle visited North Norfolk.   

A tragedy-hit seaside family is trying to get life back on song through music in a new comedy drama premiering at Sheringham this summer. 

Shanty is the story of a Cromer crab fisherman and his two daughters, all grieving after the sudden death of their wife and mum. 

Their rebuilding journey, laced with music and humour born out of adversity, is explored by up-and-coming young playwright and poet James McDermott who lives near Holt. 

“It is a drama drawing its comedy from the family’s attempts to form a band, the mess of grieving and being a young person clumsily trying to find a new way forward,” he explained. 

A free arts event celebrating two famous British characters will raise the curtain on a new fundraising appeal at Sheringham Little Theatre.

Prose, poetry and music will punctuate an afternoon of performance on Sunday April 23 which coincides with St George’s Day and the birthday of William Shakespeare.

Entry is free during the event which runs from 3pm to 5pm, in the Hub which will be serving cream teas as well as cakes, savouries and drinks. But donations will be invited to help kick start a £5000 appeal to upgrade the venue’s curtains.

No More Heroes? looks to explore well known and unsung icons of British culture.  Works will include a new version of the St George story, and the words, plus a parody, of the Bard, as well as music from British composers ancient and modern. 

He’s a bus station busker, whose songs are just the ticket for travellers. But who is he and why does he do it?

They are the questions tackled in new one-man comedy drama penned and performed by a north Norfolk entertainer.

Greg Powles’ show The Busker takes a journey in song, stories and humour that delves into the mystery street performer. As well as singing his songs, he explains how they fit into his life. 

It will be staged at three East Anglian venues in May – Pakefield, Sheringham and Norwich – ahead of plans to take the new work to the Edinburgh Festival next year. 

A pair of prestigious premieres feature in the newly-announced summer season drama line-up at Sheringham Little Theatre. 

Shanty is a brand new comedy, with live music, based on a Cromer sea shanty singing fishermen and his family. Running from August 8-12 it charts daughter Shanty’s creation of a band to tackle the family’s fishing business woes. It is penned by North Norfolk based playwright, poet and EastEnders scriptwriter James McDermott.

Run For Your Man (August 22-26), by farce master Ray Cooney, is a modern twist on his classic Run For Your Wife – putting cabbie Jackie into the main role, juggling two husbands in two different towns, before her life unravels.  

Songs signalled the reopening of Sheringham Little Theatre’s Hub café after a month-long closure for a facelift.

The new-look Hub held its “premiere” with an opening ceremony on Saturday morning (Feb 11) that mixed music, mingling, poetry and performance.

BBC Look East presenter and reporter Jenny Kirk cut the ceremonial ribbon, praising the project and encouraging people to support the venue’s investment in its future.

She said it was the first time she had been back in town since another reopening – a street party in 2019 to mark the end of works to repair a high street sink hole, when she was also impressed by the town’s community spirit. 

A new-look Hub café is taking shape behind the blacked-out windows of Sheringham Little Theatre. The venue has been closed all January for a major revamp of its foyer and the café which is a vital income generator to support its arts programming.

When the curtain goes up on the £85,000 project visitors will see a freshened up café with new flooring, ceilings, lights, heating and revived tables and chairs.

The toilets are getting new lighting and hand driers – and the whole building is getting LED lighting, a front door porch and window film to make it more energy efficient and help make its rising power bills more manageable. 

People walking past after dark will have already noticed colourful new lighting on the fascia boards. 

A charity-run seaside theatre is facing a new drama. How to pay for its surging power bill.

Bosses at Sheringham Little Theatre face a staggering rise in the cost of their electricity from the current £10,000 a year to a breathtaking £70,000.

The seven-fold hike is much higher than the 500pc increases being reported by many regional businesses who are asking for government help to survive.

The soaring cost of living also affects audience spending, seeing people questioning whether to have a trip to the theatre when they have their own food and power pressures at home. 

The double whammy is even putting the future of the community arts venue, which has just finished its summer season, in jeopardy in the longer term. 

Actor Gillian Dean is set to play a blind woman in a summer drama thriller, using her own visual impairment to bring extra realism to the role.

But two weeks later she will play a fully-sighted character in a classic comedy, using stage craft and support from fellow cast members so her disability is not noticeable.

The inspirational 42-year-old from Lakenham, Norwich is currently rehearsing and learning lines for both roles at Sheringham Little Theatre this month.In Wait Until Dark she is blind Susy who is alone in her 1960s London flat with a doll being targeted by three desperate con men. In Table Manners she is Annie, who is trying to spend an illicit weekend with her brother-in-law.

Gillian said: “Thumbs up to the Little Theatre for casting a visually-impaired person to play Susy. “It is good for ethical reasons and because we disabled actors are under-represented - but I can also bring real authenticity to the role".

“I have played sighted roles before and it is all about talking to the cast and director about what I can and cannot do and finding ways around it. I can see enough not to fall over things but if, say, I cannot see a step on stage we can arrange for someone else to go up it first so I can follow. And if my cue is from a facial expression other cast members can make a noise or give me a nudge.”

Play director Brendan Murray said: “A sighted actor can represent a blind person on stage, but Gillian’s real-life experience is teaching us how to portray things from a genuine visually-impaired perspective. She is amazingly positive and a very able actor.”

Panto, poetry, music, comedy, family shows and new drama are in the wings at Sheringham Little Theatre which has just announced its autumn and winter line-up.

Snow White is this year’s pantomime has plenty of local flavour, including seven friendly Norfolk locals and scenes set in Sheringham Woods.

And there is a welcome return of local youngsters to join the professional cast for the first time since Covid in a season running from December 10 to 31.

Other highlights from September to December include a new comic LGBT drama Time and Tide penned by north Norfolk-based EastEnders scriptwriter James McDermott, and amateur dramas about the life of codebreaker Alan Turing, and 1970s women’s “libber” Margot Mason.

Theatre director Debbie Thompson said: “There’s a huge variety of entertainment in our latest programme to cater for all ages, tastes, and interests – from popular family shows and music acts to cutting edge drama to make you think.”