Tag Archives: Marylebone Theatre

A Sherlock Carol

★★★★

Marylebone Theatre

A SHERLOCK CAROL at the Marylebone Theatre

★★★★

“one of the cleverest and most entertaining of the current festive productions”

Sherlock Holmes was just thirty-seven years old when he was reported to have died in the Reichenbach Falls in 1891; having fallen to his death in a struggle with the criminal mastermind Moriarty. The sleuth reappeared three years later, however, to resume his detective business, but becomes filled with self-doubt and slips into semi-retirement. Meanwhile, not too many yards away from 221b Baker Street, Ebenezer Scrooge is enjoying his twilight years. Nearly fifty years on from his spirit induced epiphany one Christmas Eve, he remains a respected and admired member of society, frequently visited by his close friend and beneficiary, Dr Timothy Cratchit.

It is no surprise then, that these individuals’ paths should cross as the nineteenth century is drawing to its close. There is no historical evidence to the contrary, so the events that occur in Mark Shanahan’s ingeniously clever and witty play, “A Sherlock Carol”, are entirely plausible. If a little bonkers. After all, when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Okay, the sceptical among you will be clamouring to remind me that these are fictional people, but I say ‘Humbug’ to that – let’s suspend our disbelief.

It seems that ‘A Christmas Carol’ is everywhere, so this is a perfect antidote to relieve the bloated overindulgence of Dickens at this time of year. A glorious mash up, it is recognisable as both ‘A Christmas Carol’, and as ‘Sherlock Holmes’, but the crossover is so tightly packed that characters and characteristics are well and truly mixed up. The styles as untangleable as last year’s decorations brought down from the loft.

“The cast can barely keep the smile from their faces, yet each and every one is a master at characterisation”

Holmes (Ben Caplan) is a haunted, cantankerous scrooge, insulting carol singers and bleating misanthropically at all the merry makers on Christmas Eve. He rudely shuns Watson’s (Richard James) invitation to join him for Christmas lunch. Enjoying (or rather not particularly enjoying) a melancholy drink in a melancholy tavern his solitude is interrupted by Doctor Timothy Cratchit (Devesh Kishore) who implores him, unsuccessfully, to investigate the mysterious death of Scrooge (Kammy Darweish). Holmes famously doesn’t believe in ghosts, but is nevertheless visited by a spectral Scrooge in the form of the ghost of Christmas past, present and future rolled into one. Reinvigorated he then decides to take on Cratchit’s case. A case that involves a precious blue diamond, a misplaced goose, poisoned candles, a recalcitrant maid, a bumbling Inspector Lestrade, a young Fezziwig and quite a few elementaries. Don’t ask me! Go and figure it out for yourself. You certainly won’t regret it.

The cast can barely keep the smile from their faces, yet each and every one is a master at characterisation, many of them grappling with multiple personas. Virtuosity and comedy are as intertwined as the plotlines. There is a Victorian music hall quality to it all, with the story telling and the performances taking centre stage with no reliance on modern trickery or high budget effects. Yet at the same time there is a timeless and modern quality to the presentation that appeals to all. Fans of Arthur Conan Doyle and of Charles Dickens will love it. So will newcomers. And non-fans. That covers all, I think.

At one point Watson laments the fact that Sherlock is ‘not the man I thought he was’. He hits the nail on the head. Except that this is nothing to lament, but to celebrate instead. “A Sherlock Carol” is certainly not the Sherlock you’d think it to be. Nor the Christmas Carol. But it is one of the cleverest and most entertaining of the current festive productions. You don’t need a detective’s skills to discover that. Just the ability to find Baker Street on Google Maps. And enjoy it. ‘Come, the game is afoot!’.

 


A SHERLOCK CAROL at the Marylebone Theatre

Reviewed on 30th November 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Alex Brenner

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

The Dry House | ★★½ | April 2023


A Sherlock Carol


A Sherlock Carol

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The Dry House

The Dry House

★★½

Marylebone Theatre

THE DRY HOUSE at the Marylebone Theatre

★★½

The Dry House

“The play feels old-fashioned, both in style and in theme”

 

The concept is simple, if bleak. Claire (Kathy Kiera Clarke) must feed her alcoholic sister Chrissy (Mairead McKinley) four cans of beer over the course of the morning, in order to stabilise her enough to get to a rehabilitation clinic. As the story develops, we also meet the ghost, or vision, of Chrissy’s teenage daughter, Heather (Carla Langley). These three women discuss, debate and disagree over their lives, their truths, and the future.

The idea is strong, and the performances are solid. McKinley is particularly powerful as the woman on the edge, ranting and raving from her sofa chair, and breaking down completely. We’re all familiar with Clarke’s comic chops, from her beloved role as Aunt Sarah in Derry Girls, but she proves more than able to tackle this darker material, navigating the complexity of Claire’s repression and perfectionism well.

The problem is with O’Hare’s script. There is no build, and little is held back. We learn within the first minute intimate details of how Chrissy’s alcoholism has been exacerbated by the death of her daughter. There is little more to learn. Claire and Heather both have long monologues, explaining their own secrets, but in Heather’s case it feels tangential. The monologues take us out of the claustrophobic room, where Claire is trapped with her drunk and volatile sister, and into an ether land, where the audience exists and is directly addressed. It’s a shame to reveal facts this way, as it loses that complex resentful intimacy between the sisters, which is by far the most interesting part of the play.

The designer, Niall McKeever, has lent into that claustrophobia, and the set is Chrissy’s chaotic mess of a sitting room. The stage itself, a glowing letterbox set far back into in the wall, makes the room feel as cramped as the situation these women are in.

The lighting, designed by Robbie Butler, begins mostly naturalistic, coming from lamps in the room. However, it shifts when Heather is on stage, nodding to the supernatural. As Chrissy’s situation brightens, the lighting design becomes more symbolic, something which the ending leans into.

The play feels old-fashioned, both in style and in theme. Much of what’s discussed feels familiar, especially a disconnected diatribe about kindness on the internet. Ghostly Heather’s monologue is preachy – constantly talking about what could have been and what might be. Having her look back from beyond the grave clangs against the gritty realism of Chrissy’s situation. The musical motif of Coldplay’s Fix You not only adds to the generally dated feel, but also gives Chrissy’s very real struggle a saccharine edge.

There is however, a completely fantastic moment where Heather says that being dead is much like being alive, except for a low hum in your left ear. This is pure genius, and I wish there had been more of this fresh weirdness in the play, which could have freed it from familiarity.

The characters are dealt with empathetically, and there are shining moments within this piece, but overall, it is held back by a lack of subtlety and tonal variety.

 

 

Reviewed on 6th April 2023

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Manuel Harlan

 

 

Previously reviewed by Auriol:

 

Linck & Mülhahn | ★★★★★ | Hampstead Theatre | February 2023
Mind Full | ★★★ | Hope Theatre | March 2023
Black Superhero | ★★★★ | Royal Court Theatre | March 2023

 

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