"221B", written by Martyn Read for Nigel Stock, was, I think, the first important minimalist Sherlock Holmes play - the precursor to Jeremy Paul's two-hander "The Secret of Sherlock Holmes" and David Stuart Davies's two solo plays for Roger Llewellyn. If you know that Nigel Stock had made his name as a great Dr Watson in two television series, eight audio recordings and several radio broadcasts, you won't be surprised to know that the sole character in "221B" is not Holmes but Watson.
Stock toured Britain with the play in 1983. I saw it at the Georgian Theatre Royal at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, and found it an exciting, nostalgic and moving experience - in some ways rather like "Sherlock Holmes - The Last Act!"
Martyn Read himself adapted the play for broadcast by the BBC World Service on 18 January 1986. It may have been the last radio performance that Nigel Stock gave, as he died in June of that year. The play was repeated on BBC Radio 4 on 19 October 1986.
Somehow, Ronald De Waal missed both stage and radio version when he compiled his invaluable bibliography "The Universal Sherlock Holmes".
Roger
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Any info about it's source? The 1983 tour of 221B maybe? I watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) again recently where he has a cameo in one of the 7 episodes (as Roddy Martindale.) He looked a little better in that. I'd forgot he was in Young Sherlock Holmes as well until some recent checking on wiki and imdb. That's the one with the lanky kid - not the 8 part TV Manor House series.
Wiki states that when he died his wife, Richenda Carey, was his 3rd. She appeared in The Further Adventures episode The Star Of The Adelphi. Considering Stock was born in Malta and grew up in India one is instantly reminded of that part in The Sign Of Four. "Experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents."
Further to what I said about it being my favourite piece of Holmes audio. My 'Desert Island MP3'. Technically there are far better stories (adaptations, plays etc) out there but listening to this reminds me so much of my pre-teen years when I first read the canon and watched the Cushing and Stock episodes. Those memories are far more important to me than the material that is technically superior.
Thanks again Magersfontein - I was so happy to find this.
Have you found the abridged readings by Nigel Stock, posted elsewhere in this group? https://timespast.ning.com/group/thedefinitivesherlockholmes/forum/t....
There are also the eight dramatisations he recorded with Robert Hardy: https://timespast.ning.com/group/thedefinitivesherlockholmes/forum/t....
Finally, did you know that the eleven surviving episodes from Nigel Stock's first TV series as Dr Watson, with the excellent Douglas Wilmer as Sherlock Holmes, have at last been released on DVD - but only in Region 1 NTSC format? Douglas Wilmer turned 90 in January. An American friend and I were able to provide him with a multi-region DVD player, and he was delighted to have the chance to see these plays again.
Roger
I have the other stuff. I'm a bit late to this party but I've been collecting for years. I've found a few things here that I didn't have. Maybe I have one or 2 things that might go down well here. I started by checking the Rathbone Bruce list and have at least 2 more which came from another member of this group so maybe I should ask him first to see if it's OK to upload them. The Improbable, Noose and new Railway sets here also originated from me. I also came across the recent RTE1 HOUN with about an hour to go before the first part started and recorded it and the 2nd one. After the 2nd one I told another member and RTE1 put up listen again streaming links to both but I had it covered. It was on one of my Holmes Google searches that I stumbled across it. As I said in the comment wall I don't want people to think I have anything against my stuff on here in any way and even if I did stuff like this 221B more than make up for it. I'm just glad I found the group.
Actually what I just said about having the stuff you mentioned. Over the years I've downloaded the Hardy / Stock 8 vinyl adaptations from at least 4 places and every time it was the wrong Blue Carbuncle included. It was always the Gielgud / Richardson version. At last I have the correct version. So thanks for that as well. You can see what I mean about the wrong Carbuncle in the example in the link. It's about half way down.
http://staticofthemind.com/?page_id=1016
I got the new Railway earlier and listened to it but was doing other things so I thought I'll go through it again later. But I've gone through this twice instead!
I'm of the age where Stock is my Watson (and Cushing my Holmes) The only thing better than this would be one of those lost Cushing / Stock TV shows.
I'm very pleased to have been able to provide a good recording of "221B". I taped it off-air when a repeat broadcast was made on BBC Radio 4 after Nigel Stock's untimely death.
Roger
This is actually my favourite piece of Holmes audio in my collection. There's something about Stock's voice that I love. I only found out recently that he was in BBC's A Pair Of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy. I'm not particularly fond of Hardy, although Jude did leave a deep impression, but I listened to Blue Eyes simply to hear Stock's voice.
Roger