A THEATRICAL celebration of Sherlock Holmes is to be held in the town where the legendary sleuth was first brought to life on film.

This Friday marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who created the world-famous fictional detective.

To mark the date, Southport Arts Centre has secured a performance of a popular touring production.

The seaside town is the birth place of director GB Samuelson, who made the first film portrayal of the legendary sleuth.

Sherlock Holmes – The Last Act, a one-man show starring Roger Llewellyn, sees Holmes drawn from retirement for the funeral of his friend Dr Watson, and returning to Baker Street to resolve “the last act” of his epic career.

John Sprackland, performing arts programme manager at Southport Arts Centre, said: “I started looking into why Sherlock Holmes is interesting to Southport, and I discovered that the first film portrayal of him was made by GB Samuelson, who was born in Southport.

“In fact, parts of the film were filmed on Southport beach.

“It’s a legendary, lost film, that doesn’t appear to exist any more, called A Study in Scarlet. Wouldn’t it be great if we could find it in someone’s attic somewhere?”

Samuelson, who owned the first cinema and film rental agency at the Victoria Hall, got one of his employees to play Holmes in the film.

John said: “He wasn’t an actor, he was somebody who worked for Samuelson. It was a silent film so he didn’t have any lines, he just had to look the part!”