Sherlock Holmes: The Final Curtain
**
New Theatre, Cardiff
Mon 25 Jun
With over 200 cinematic and 30 televised representations of Sherlock, it makes the Baker Street detective the apparent Guinness world record holder for ‘Most Portrayed Literary Human Character in Film & TV’. With this knowledge it’s a tall order for any stage writer to take on Conan Doyle’s pride and joy, and disappointingly for writer Simon Reade it proved to be exactly that.
Perhaps the most dismaying part was the genuine potential the play had to be an original and exciting take, an answer to how the dynamic duo of Sherlock and Watson would tackle their greatest challenge, growing old. The action is set in 1921 and 1922, starting in Sherlock’s retirement haven of Sussex and then moving to his past playground of London. The Final Curtain’s narrative is centered around Sherlock being thrust out of a sleepy retirement in the south coast to decipher his final case – solving the mysterious occurrence of the reappearing ghost of Mary Watson’s son, whilst simultaneously forcing the detective to confront his own demons.
The production was by no means a complete flop; the audience seemed sufficiently entertained throughout with Watson gaining the odd chuckle from the older generations every now and again. Similarly, it has to be said the minimalist set design fits in well with the gloomy aesthetic Reade appears to be trying to achieve, and the nostalgia of Holmes’ Baker Street flat is executed impressively. However, the energy one expects from gaining an insight into Sherlock’s unapologetically brilliant mind was missing in Powell’s lacklustre performance. Particularly during the first half I found myself internally pleading for someone to stick a firework up Powell’s bottom to put a bit more ‘oof’ into his delivery. In fact, the onstage chemistry was missing amongst nearly all the cast members, most evident in the lengthy and wooden scenes between between Mary and Sherlock. This was especially unexpected considering the exceptional talent both Powell and Goddard have proven to possess in their past theatrical roles.
This being said things did pick up a bit during the second half; there were a few more laughs with Reade’s attempt at mimicking the classic banter between Sherlock and Watson, which has driven the brand’s success for years. However, one cannot help but see that the quick whit and clever rhetoric present in Conan Doyle’s depiction of the Sherlock/Watson relationship is for the most part absent in Reade’s attempt to replicate it. Whilst the production has enough to keep the audience interested for its two hour span, to longstanding fans of Sherlock I imagine they would leave the theatre a bit miffed with it’s weak references and clumsy plot progression.
Perhaps the fact it’s the final curtain is a small mercy for us all, as based upon this performance it seems like the opportune time for Sherlock to hang up the cape and deerstalker for good.
words Mel Lynch
Info: (029) 2087 8889 / newtheatrecardiff.co.uk