5 December – 4 January
Very rarely do the words ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and ‘Christmas’ appear in the same sentence. And yet Conan Doyle’s ninth story featuring the world’s first consulting detective, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, does indeed have a Christmas theme, as Dr Watson pays a Yuletide visit to his sleuthing friend, only to find him contemplating the mysterious case of a dead goose and an old hat. First published in the Strand Magazine in January 1892, this lesser-known tale of a missing priceless diamond has been adapted by theatre company Black Hound Productions as the evening festive performance for Cheltenham’s Irving Studio Theatre.
There have been some memorable screen pairings of this literary duo over the years, from Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in the 1940s, to Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in the BBC’s more recent rendering. However director and designer Patrick Withey has opted for female leads in Katriona Brown and Charlotte East as Holmes and Watson respectively, with the result being a gentler and refreshingly original performance which teases out an affectionate and endearing friendship with some deft comic touches. They are joined by the versatile Gerard Cooke, who skilfully brings to life all the minor characters who populate this charming tale.
The black box confines of the Irving Studio Theatre are transformed into a plausible late-Victorian London with some very effective lighting, sound and smoke, courtesy of lighting designer Danny Connaire and sound designer Amy Pix, with a beautifully designed set alternating fluidly between a range of settings with some highly creative and clever use of props.
A simple but very engaging mystery is resolved within just over an hour as Holmes and Watson embark, quite literally, on a riotous goose chase across the capital. Perhaps Conan Doyle himself was, in this tale, inspired by Dickens’ classic Christmas story of redemption and humanity, infusing even the normally detached and socially oblivious Holmes with a sprinkling of Christmas spirit. “It is the season of forgiveness”, he says, rather uncharacteristically showing some seasonal sympathy towards members of London’s criminal underworld.
The enduring phenomenon of Sherlock Holmes is a manifestation of society’s fundamental love of, and need for, crime fiction, in turn reflecting our collective desire for our crimefighting heroes, whether on stage, page or screen, to restore order to our fractured and chaotic world. Sherlock Holmes and a Christmas Mystery does just this with charm and humour, whilst simultaneously capturing Conan Doyle’s sense of adventure and escapism.
★★★★☆ Tony Clarke 6 December 2024
