★★★

“a funny show that does a fine job in entertaining its audience”

It’s clear from the moment actor Tendai Humphrey Sitima comes onstage and welcomes us with his improvised prologue that this is no ordinary Sherlock Holmes narrative. It’s wacky, whimsical and most importantly, it takes place post pandemic. Writer Kate Hamill transports us to…today and brings out a fresh dynamic between the infamous duo of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, whose genders have been swapped to female.

Dr. Joan Watson finds herself in a transitional period and is somehow convinced to live with Holmes, a manic and eccentric consulting detective. For Holmes, everything is a puzzle that needs to be solved and she invites Watson in a world of clues, puzzles and mystery. Other well-known characters from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories appear, like Mrs. Hudson, Irene Adler, Lestrade and of course, Holmes’ nemesis, Moriarty. Nothing is what it seems as we join Holmes and Watson in a chase that leaves us breathless.

The relationship between Holmes and Watson has a playful quality and an underlying romantic element, which is never fully acted upon. This is for the best, as the two hours and thirty minute run is not enough to introduce to us to the adapted world, the newly fleshed characters, unpack two mysteries and explore a potential romantic layer in the relationship of the titular characters. It already feels overcrowded and at times tiring, especially towards the end where everything is laid out and plot twist after plot twist are revealed.

Holmes, played by Lucy Farrett, is a ball of peculiar energy, has a flair for the dramatic and uses big gestures with intensely comic facial expressions. It’s an interesting interpretation, but it ignores the character’s genius and leans more to high-stakes comedy. Watson, played by Simona Brown, doesn’t seem to diverge from the same level of tension and frustration with everything that’s happening and Holmes’ behaviour. Tendai Humphrey Sitima and Alice Lucy complete the rest of the cast, playing multiple characters; they both gain laughter from the audience, but the multi rolling gets a tad dull in its overplayed boldness.

Under Sean Turner’s direction, this modern adaptation is what I imagine the movie Clue would look like if the actors were trained in Commedia dell’arte. The physical comedy is entertaining, but there are moments where it feels forced and stagnant. It’d be interesting to see some more variation to help the audience keep up and be genuinely surprised by the script.

One of the most exciting aspects of this production is the hyper-realistic set, an intriguing clutter of items, secret entrances and two levels that provide a visual enhancement to the story. Set designer Max Dorey didn’t hold back and the complicated stage configuration could also be a physical representation of Holmes’ idiosyncratic brain and unusual thought processing. Lighting, by David Howe, and sound, by Hattie North, help immensely with the different locations, as well as with highlighting the comedic tone of the narrative.

It’s a funny show that does a fine job in entertaining its audience, without the need to be particularly familiar with the source material. Yet, there is a lot going on, from the witty jokes, the constant moving around and surprises that seem to never end, and you can’t help but feel exhausted by the time the show ends.

CUL-DE-SAC

Omnibus Theatre

★★★

“Ultimately it is a moving piece, that takes us behind the twitching curtains of suburbia”

Northwood Hills. Zone 6 London. The middle of nowhere. With apologies to the residents of HA6, that is where we find Ruth Townsend and company, at a bit of a dead end. It’s not so much that Ruth hates where she lives, she just dislikes the ‘concept’ of suburbia. ‘And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”’ is no doubt a constant refrain in here head. The Talking Heads song does indeed make an appearance as part of the well-chosen soundtrack to David Shopland’s new play, “Cul-de-Sac”. Billed as a comedy-drama it is, more accurately, a comedy and then a drama. In that order. The first act sets up the situation and characterisation with lashings of humour, no holds barred; while Act Two belongs to the very different genre of psychological drama. Both halves, together, make for a long evening and, although we leave with much to contemplate and talk about, we are also trying to think of a ruthless editor to recommend to Shopland.

It is a finely structured piece, nevertheless, zooming in on the secrets and resentments of the characters that have wound up in the eponymous, yet unnamed, cul-de-sac. None are stereotypes or caricatures, but they all do conform to a particular ‘type’. Shopland is a great observer of human nature, and the laughs can sometimes give way to gasps. Shades of Edward Albee, Mike Leigh and Joe Orton are all present, but they compete with, rather than blend into, each other.

Ruth (Shereen Roushbaiani) and Frank (Ellis J. Wells) have been living on the cul-de-sac for three years and have never really got to know the neighbours that well yet. Roushbaiani presents Ruth’s dissatisfaction with a delicacy that we feel could crack at any moment. It is a wonder it doesn’t shatter sooner given Wells’ shouty, cantankerous Frank. Nervous neighbour, Marie, unwittingly wanders into their life and living room. Lucy Farrett, in a bid to sustain the volume set by Wells, sacrifices the subtlety of Marie’s neuroses and secrets with an over-emphasised delivery. Callum Patrick Hughes, as Simon, gurns and twitches his way into the fold as the lovable misfit. Late to the party is Behkam Salehani, as Hamza, a figure that turns the tide and makes us look at the others in a completely different way.

‘What starts as a quiet evening rapidly unravels…’ we are told in the publicity blurb. Only it is the other way around. It begins quite raucously (too raucously) and gradually drifts into quieter, more introspective territory. The cast seem to be trying too hard initially, which hinders our belief in their characters. Emotions run too high too soon. Touches of surreal choreography open each act during which we can see the question marks hovering above the actors’ heads as well as the audience. Shopland, who also directs, is packing in too many ingredients and we are losing our way a bit. A soliloquy about religious and racial persecution seems to appear out of nowhere.

But then the penny drops. Shopland delivers a twist, the true colours show through and at last we prick up our ears. The sadness that has bubbled to the surface is palpable and the performances have settled into a pool of poignancy, its stillness amplifying the emotions. A false ending, however, trips us up. Shopland should have quit while he was winning, but instead the narrative coasts into a kind of group therapy session where they are trying to outdo each other in the trauma stakes. A bit like the Monty Python ‘Yorkshireman’ sketch; “You were lucky…”

Ultimately it is a moving piece, that takes us behind the twitching curtains of suburbia. Occasionally predictable yet with a sharp insight into the complications, secrets and tragedies of seemingly ordinary people. The shift from humour to pathos is powerfully executed, although a bit drawn out. We may be in a cul-de-sac but, at times, it seems it has no end.

MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT 2B

Arcola Theatre

★★★

“a funny show that does a fine job in entertaining its audience”

MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT 2B

Arcola Theatre

Reviewed on 1st December 2025

by Stephanie Christodoulidou

Photography by Alex Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

MS. HOLMES

MS. HOLMES

MS. HOLMES

CUL-DE-SAC

Omnibus Theatre

★★★

“Ultimately it is a moving piece, that takes us behind the twitching curtains of suburbia”

CUL-DE-SAC

Omnibus Theatre

Reviewed on 29th May 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Kat Forsyth

Previously reviewed at this venue:

CUL-DE-SAC

CUL-DE-SAC

CUL-DE-SAC

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