BRATTLEBORO — The Baker Street Readers are bringing their Sherlock Holmes podcast series to a new home: the Latchis Theatre.
The Readers formed in 2018 and began reading one of Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes stories every month at the Hooker-Dunham Theater in Brattleboro. Each story featured James Gelter as Sherlock Holmes, Tony Grobe as Dr. Watson, and a rotating cast of guest performers.
Once COVID-19 forced theaters to close, the Readers began their own Patreon podcast, allowing their followers to listen to their stories at home.
“We've been recording in the same space as we performed our live shows,” Gelter, the founder of the Readers, said in a news release, “but this was proving to be very difficult. The space was so small that, in order to maintain a proper social distance, we could only have one performer in the space at a time.
“This meant that everyone had to be recorded separately and then I would edit all the parts together later. This was proving to be very time consuming, and the final product lacked the energy that comes when actors are able to respond to and play off of each other.”
But now, the readers will record all together on the Latchis main stage.
“While it is not only a beautiful space to perform in, the stage is large enough that we can have up to six performers recording together while maintaining proper social distance,” Gelter said. “In this trying time, we cannot let audiences into our performance spaces, but that doesn't mean the performances can't still happen.”
Previously, the Readers produced two episodes of their podcast each month. In their new space, editing time will be significantly reduced, allowing them to release a new episode every week.
New episodes begin this week. To listen to the podcast, audiences can visit patreon.com/bakerstreetreaders and sign up to be a patron. For $5 a month, patrons will receive a new episode every two weeks; for $8, they will receive a new episode weekly.
For more information, visit bakerstreetreaderspodcast.com or facebook.com/bakerstreetreaders.