Sherlock Holmes reviews: the spectacle is afoot in this new take on an old favourite

"Horwood’s version succeeds in simultaneously teasing and taking seriously the original."

“Billed as “a new mystery”, the script by Joel Horwood is a sort of bridge between Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet (1887) and The Sign of the Four (1890). The conceit is that we are seeing the 'real' events that Dr Watson, frantically transcribing most of the play’s dialogue into a notebook, later published as the second Sherlock Holmes book.”

“This suggestion of Watson as an unreliable narrator is one of many contemporary customisations of the franchise that also include Holmes’s belief that the British empire was itself a cunning fiction and reminders that the Indian gems are loot.”

“Joshua James’s perky, petulant Sherlock has some of the canonical props, including pipe and drug apparatus, but passionately embraces theories about the detective’s sexuality and neurodiversity with which earlier performers have only flirted.”

“Jyuddah Jaymes engagingly seizes the opportunities given by a Watson whose agency and braininess have been expanded from his Conan Doyle role of out-thought secretary.”

“After a rattling but unfocused first half, it all comes together neatly. And despite Horwood’s insistence on shoehorning in an unnecessary, profoundly obvious plot twist, there are compelling ideas at play.”

“Horwood uses Conan Doyle’s original story as an entry point to examine contemporary tensions around identity, immigration and otherness, drawing a direct line from bygone colonialist attitudes to the reactionary xenophobia still tainting our politics to this day.”

“Most notable is his treatment of Watson – played with energy and disarming charm by Jyuddah Jaymes. Here, the combat medic seems willing to cross any ethical boundary, always justifying his terrible choices to himself as practical solutions.”

“By contrast, Joshua James’ erratic Holmes eschews morals completely, writing humanity off as irredeemably savage. Channelling the chaotic energy of a young Rik Mayall, James swerves between performative flouncing and snide sneering, illuminating the famous character’s frustration, loneliness and deeply dysfunctional psychology.”

“Will Brown makes a strong impression in dual roles as a particularly blunt, thuggish Inspector Lestrade.”

“Director Holmes and movement director Charlotte Broom give the piece a breathless, boisterous treatment that helps to smooth over the sometimes-laboured plot, enlivening proceedings with brief bursts of staccato movement, acrobats and even a fire-breathing circus performer.”

“Grace Smart’s set is built around a central revolve, which twirls the actors about, adding even more dynamism to chases and crowd scenes. A proscenium, its gilded frame cracked and charred, stands centrally, its flaking gold paint and splintered woodwork symbolising the play’s central idea that only a thin veneer of civilisation conceals all manner of barbarous acts.”

“The opening night of the open air season at Regent’s Park has to be the chilliest on record – but the production featuring the Conan Doyle’s immortal detective has an almost feverish excitement to balance the temperature.”

“It’s all beautifully done. Joel Horwood has written a script, very loosely based on The Sign of Four, which features all the Holmesian elements you could wish for: lost treasure, a blood oath, a curse, conspiracy, skullduggery in high places, poison darts, a circus, and even a hot air balloon.”

“Into the traditional elements he has added a fair wallop of anti-Empire social commentary – “that treasure isn’t free wealth, it’s stolen history” – and psychological insight into the relationship between the lonely, obsessive Holmes and his fiction-writing sidekick Dr Watson (embodied with warmth and charisma and an excellent check suit by Jyuddah Jaymes).”

“The production is magnificently brought to life and quite literally framed by Grace Smart’s design which sets a broken gilded proscenium arch across a revolving stage, surrounded in the encroaching darkness beyond by odd bits of Victorian furniture and the rustling foliage of the Regent’s Park trees.”

“The design is indeed rather more subtle than some of the writing which has the obviousness of a hammer blow, and a plot that twists and turns bewilderingly before ending up where Holmes enthusiasts might always have guessed it would land.”

“Its essential strength springs from the two central performances. James, in shimmering blue, is a terrific Holmes, all nervous energy and twitchy thought, his rationality constantly battling Watson’s emotional responses. His comic timing is superb.”

“But he’s matched by Jaymes’ gentler Watson, not the buffoon of many portrayals, but a clever man battling his own demons.”

“Involving a case of “cursed” treasure, and hurtling from imperial India to Victorian London, it has all the ingredients of a pacey TV episode but feels hectic and convoluted on stage.”

“James is the best thing about the evening, combining intelligent loftiness and likeability. The second-best thing is Jyuddah Jaymes’s Watson: he’s a charismatic foil to the detective, one step behind but wise to his shortcomings.”

“The commitment is undeniable, the pay-off more questionable. On the page, the fun of Conan Doyle’s adventures is in watching the way our man joins the dots; here, across two hours, we’re bombarded with clues to the point of bamboozlement.”

“The show’s overarching deficiency is the fuzzy sense of what’s at stake, or who’s calling the shots.”

“In between, as the twists keep coming, there’s a suspicious damsel in distress to whom Watson takes a shine (Nadi Kemp-Sayfi’s Mary), slayings by poison-dart, queer goings-on at London Zoo, and another plot line involving stolen government papers. As directed by Sean Holmes, this all looks terrific; a hot air balloon is the pièce de résistance.”

“Roving a set dominated by a fractured proscenium arch, the ensemble displays an agility that could rival Scotland Yard’s finest.”

"A garbled take"

"Joel Horwood’s script, loosely based on [Conan Doyle's] story The Sign of Four, is an uneasy mix of postmodernism and panto."

"Jyuddah Jaymes’s performance is agreeable but his Watson is often left marking time or covering up gaps in the narrative."

"It analyses Holmes and Dr Watson and the nature of their relationship in ways that recall the modernised BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman."

"This is a muddle from start to finish, the action progressing in fits and starts and the characters and the language showing no internal logic."

"Sometimes you can see the thinking behind artistic choices – the spectacle of an escape by hot air balloon, the use of the Open Air Theatre’s rear gantries for a fight atop Tower Bridge – even if the execution is confused."

"The centrepiece of Grace Smart’s revolving set is a broken proscenium arch suggesting we’re at a music hall or a melodrama, but this sits oddly with Jherek Bischoff’s industrial music and Charlotte Broom’s turbulent modern choreography."