WOLVES once roamed the forests of Dartmoor and their echo has left dark imprints on local myths, and provoked rumours of black dogs throughout history, including the stories that sparked Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Med Theatre’s The Howling takes a lead from The Hound of the Baskervilles, but the play is set in contemporary times and explores issues around re-wilding, combined with the latest research into the Dartmoor myths and history that inspired author Arthur Conan Doyle and his co-creator Bertram Fletcher Robinson.

At its root lies the enigmatic figure of Richard Cabell, who was Lord of Brook Manor near Buckfastleigh in the aftermath of the English Civil War, and after his death acquired a dubious reputation as a vampire.

When an American claiming descent from Richard Cabell comes to a Dartmoor community with his English wife in search of his roots, he encounters more than he bargained for…

MED Theatre, based in Moretonhampstead, has been touring community plays written specifically for its local multigenerational cast by artistic director and playwright Mark Beeson over three decades.

The Howling includes scenes written by three members of MED Theatre’s Young Company, and is part of MED’s exciting 18-month project ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles and the Last Wolf on Dartmoor’ supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Howling will be performed in Lydford on Thursday, March 16 and in Moretonhampstead on the March 17 and 18.