ONE of the highlights of the summer months is Miracle Theatre’s annual visit to outdoor venues across Dorset.

This year is no exception, with the Cornish company returning to several venues with a mystery story with a sting in its tail.

Coming shortly after top actor Benedict Cumberbatch re-ignited our interest in a quintessential British detective with a ratings-beating BBC series, Miracle Theatre returns to the stage with The Death of Sherlock Holmes, written and directed by company founder Bill Scott.

It’s a dangerous time for Sherlock Holmes: preparing for his final battle with the criminal mastermind Moriarty, he stumbles upon a most ingenious crime.

Faced with a web of questionable motives, bizarre weapons and devilish disguises, Sherlock and Watson head off at breakneck speed on a trail, which leads from 221b Baker Street, via the Swiss Alps, to a suburban séance bursting with paranormal goings on.

Bill Scott said: “This show is about how the world’s most famous detective might have reacted when his creator, the archetypal Victorian gentleman Arthur Conan Doyle, started to lose interest in writing detective stories and became obsessed with ghosts and fairies instead.

“But there is much more going on in this new Sherlock Holmes adventure than meets the eye.

“Moriarty may be the most evil villain of all time but could there be someone even more powerful pulling his strings?

“The audience will need to look out for clues and use all their powers of deduction to crack this most puzzling of cases. We hope it will keep people talking all the way home.”

Miracle Theatre is renowned for producing witty, highly physical and popular new works as well as clever adaptations of the classics – the company’s last two summer shows were Romeo and Juliet and Tartuffe.

The Death of Sherlock Holmes skilfully combines a cast of Miracle’s most popular and dynamic performers, an original music score by Jim Carey and innovative design by Alan and Jude Munden to create a mind-boggling ‘whodunwhat’ which offers audiences of all generations the chance to test their detective skills alongside our avid super sleuths.

Miracle Theatre has been touring innovative comic theatre across the UK since 1979.

Since it began life in Cornwall, the company has developed a reputation for exciting new material and popular adaptations of classical works. The shows are witty, highly physical and entertaining.