It's elementary! And, what’s more, it will be downright hilarious as comedian Joe Pasquale follows in the illustrious footsteps of the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller and serves up his own unique and very individual comedic portrayal of super sleuth Sherlock Holmes.

The touring stage production Ha Ha Holmes! The Hound of the Baskervilles, produced by Jamie Wilson Productions, was a big hit in the UK in 2011, gaining rave reviews all over the country.

This brand new production is touring theatres around the UK, and stops off at Crewe Lyceum on Friday, September 13.

And for ‘King of the Jungle’ Pasquale, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“I agreed immediately because the script made me laugh out loud,” he says.

“It’s something so different for me. All the roles I’ve played before have basically been me. The Nerd was very much me. The Producers was me with an American accent.  Doctor in the House was me in a white coat. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead was a layabout version of me. But Sherlock Holmes is a real stretch for me.

“But I’ve loved it. I’ve especially enjoyed working with Ben Langley, who wrote the play and co-stars as Doctor Watson, and Andrew Fettes, who plays everyone else.”

The squeaky-voiced funnyman is not necessarily known for his acting prowess.

But he is honing his skills, and spent a period starring as King Arthur in the Monty Python musical send-up Spamalot.

“I like the discipline of it (acting),” he says. “Stand-up is very different, as you can go wherever you like. In a play, you have to stick to the script more rigidly.

“What I like about Ha Ha Holmes! is that it incorporates both disciplines. You can go off on a tangent about tortoises, but you have to come back to the script eventually.

“Because we understand each other very well, Ben and I know how to bring it back to the script. We know when we’ve been doing the tortoise improvisation for too long!

“You can ad-lib, or leave it alone. There is a lot of improvisation. If an improvisation works, you keep it in the show. Improvisation is brilliant because it makes every night unique.

“The audience love it. When you ad lib it does make the audience feel special because it’s only happening on that one night.”

It’s not just about making the audience laugh of course – somewhere there is a storyline and plot involved.

“In theory, Holmes is trying to find The Hound of the Baskervilles on the moors,” explains Pasquale.

“There is a very long, involved story about a curse on a family, but ultimately that is pointless. It’s all about the deduction.

“It’s a really innovative, really funny play about Holmes’s methods of solving crimes, and audiences will love getting wrapped up in it.

“The stories lend themselves to comic treatment. The relationship between Holmes and Watson is funny. Holmes is the master criminal hunter and Watson is his apprentice – there is great scope for comedy there.

“Look at Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films – there is a lot of humour in them. Robert Downey Junior is a fantastic comic actor.  We’re simply heightening what’s already there.

“It’s Monty Python meets Men Behaving Badly meets Sherlock Holmes.”

Ha Ha Holmes! The Hound of the Baskervilles starts at 7.30pm on September 13. Tickets are £21, to book call the box office on 01270 368242 or visit www.crewelyceum.co.uk.