BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- "Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery," a stage play by American playwright Ken Ludwig, was staged at China's National Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday.

The play, a humorous adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel "The Hound of the Baskervilles," features 42 characters played by five actors, and their humorous dialogue creates a uniquely British comedy atmosphere.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" was published in the early 1900s. It is one of the four novel-length Sherlock Holmes stories and has been adapted for both stage and screen.

The screenwriter of the play, Ken Ludwig, has won two Laurence Olivier Awards.