Sherlock Holmes on the Stage. An investigation into Another Side of the Myth

Abstract

This contribution deals with Sherlock Holmes on the stage. Starting from November 23 1893, when Under the Clock, or An Extravaganza in One Act, written by Charles Brookfield and Seymour Hicks made his debut on the London stage, at the Royal Court Theatre, the theatrical successes of one of the most popular character have been steady, except with a slight decline in the 1930s. Nowadays more than a thousand productions have been staged. All scripts, with alternate fortunes, concern all theatrical genres and almost all the main languages. The aim is to introduce a little-studied component of the Holmesian myth, trying to explain its birth and genesis.