The Game Is Afoot: Frensham Heights Marks Centenary Year with Sold-Out Sherlock Holmes Triumph

Frensham Heights School is delighted to announce the outstanding success of its 2026 Senior Production, Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery by Ken Ludwig, which played to sold-out audiences across all three performances this March. 

Ken Ludwig's brilliantly theatrical and wickedly funny adaptation of Conan Doyle's classic tale proved the perfect vehicle for the school's senior students, with audiences treated to a production alive with invention, imagination and remarkable stagecraft, and a fitting celebration in what is the school's centenary year. 

Reflecting on the process, the production's director Kat Pinnell, the school’s Director of Performing Arts, said: "When choosing this year's senior production, I must have read nearly thirty plays. I knew I was working with an exceptionally talented cast, so the piece had to challenge them, stretch them, intrigue them and, most importantly, it had to be fun. I can safely say we found exactly that. And boy — have we had fun." 

"Every rehearsal has been filled with laughter, commitment and creativity. Their courage, dedication and willingness to take risks are what make theatre so exciting. I could not be prouder of them." 

The production brought together a large and dedicated company of performers, designers, technicians and crew. Costume design was led with creative vision and a nurturing approach that helped students take to the stage with confidence. The production's complex and ambitious sound world was carefully crafted, with technical production supported by tireless behind-the-scenes work that the team credits with making the impossible possible. Production safety, design and technical delivery were overseen by a skilled team who also led the school's ever-growing cast of student stage crew with professionalism and generosity of spirit. 

The production held special significance as Baskerville marked the final Frensham Heights production for several Year 13 students, who gave the show their all before passing the torch to a new generation of performers, many of whom were making their stage debut. "To our new faces: what an introduction," the director said. "May this be the first of many productions you take part in." 

This production was a testament to Frensham Heights School's long-standing commitment to the performing arts. A commitment that stretches back across the school's entire hundred-year history. Drama, music and dance are woven into school life from Nursery through to Year 9 as a core part of the curriculum, with students able to continue their studies through to GCSE and A Level qualifications. This dedication to nurturing creative talent from an early age means that by the time students reach the senior school, they bring with them not only technical skill but a genuine love of performance, and productions like Baskerville are where that journey finds its fullest expression. In the school's centenary year, there could be no more joyful demonstration of everything Frensham Heights stands for. 

The amateur production of “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery: was presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.