Superb direction by the talented Patric Kearns ensures Brian Clemens’s Sherlock Holmes And The Ripper Murders has many moments of chilling tension.

Clemens’s imaginative play achieves credibility, but it drags at times. Perhaps Talking Scarlet, whose production is dedicated to the memory of the writer of TV hits The Avengers and The Professionals, might otherwise have been tempted to cut the lengthy first act.

We learn that the horrific murders attributed to Jack The Ripper in Victorian Whitechapel are more than senseless butchering by a serial killer. They involve freemasons and corruption at the highest level of the establishment.

Holmes, played by the writer’s son Samuel Clemens, is less eccentric and egotistical than the original flawed hero created by Arthur Conan Doyle, while a sharper Dr Watson (George Telfer) earns greater respect. The two actors complement each other as they discuss a more realistic threat than Holmes’ old nemesis Moriarty.

Lara Lemon makes an excellent clairvoyant, with whom Holmes becomes smitten, while Michael Kirk and Andrew Paul are convincing villains.

Neil Roberts (Assistant Commissioner Anderson), Kim Taylforth (Mrs Hudson and a shrieking prostitute) and Katy Dean, playing three roles, also impress, while designer Geoff Gilder creates a clever multi-purpose set.

Four stars