Theatre Review: Sherlock Holmes, The Final Curtain
An enjoyable enough night at the theatre, although nothing spectacular!
If I say Sherlock Holmes, you (will undoubtedly) say, Benedict Cumberbatch, the actor portraying the famous sleuth in the hit TV show. However, it was nothing to do with Mr Cumberbatch that found me at Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre on Friday night, and more to do with Clive Merrison.
RP is a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, and I mean the older BBC Radio plays in particular, with the sleuth being played by Clive Merrison. I have to say, they are a joy to listen too.
So when we spied the show being performed at our local King’s Theatre, we quickly bought tickets. Armed with a cheeky gin, and a pint, we took our seats and waited to be enthralled with some extra Sherlock Holmes!
The first act
The play opened on a bee-keeping Holmes, hiding out in post-war Brighton. With Robert Powell taking the lead role, and Liza Goddard playing Watson’s wife, Mary, we had high hopes of being entertained. The script was rather wordy, and no beats were missed.
The play ambled along nicely enough, and I was quite enjoying being out in the evening at the theatre, whereas RP, the Sherlock fan, was quietly becoming disappointed in the show. He was a good sport not to show it until the interval, where we refilled our glasses.
Armed with more gin, and beer, we went back in to be whipped into a frenzy of intrigue and espionage, only to find the second and final act to plod along in much the same manner as the first. Oh dear.
A play of two halves
Having an insight into theatre production, we both know a lot goes into putting a performance together, so of course, it is disappointing to find it did not lived up to expectation.
Looking at other reviews of the play afterwards, our worse fears were confirmed – it hadn’t been a very good play!
Perhaps we are too expectant of the thrills of the TV shows, the drama of the films, the rapid delivery of the radio plays to enjoy a preamble around the theatre?
Catch Sherlock Holmes, The Final Curtain on tour to make up your own mind (Gin not included in ticket price).
