Following a successful summer run at Camden People’s Theatre earlier this year, Struts and Frets Theatre bring their acclaimed production of Sherlock Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia (and other tales) to the Tristan Bates Theatre next week. Get booking quickly!
The all-female tale of detective daring runs at the Camden venue from 28 October to 2 November 2019.
This fin-de-siècle merry-go-round is a rollercoaster ride of a show, with five women playing hundreds of characters while Holmes and Watson rattle through some of their favourite escapades, exposing crimes, solving mysteries, cheating death and making it safely back home in time to feed the dog.
See Holmes take on Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, and dodge and weave with Lestrade and the bungling authorities in a boxing match. Wonder as Mrs Hudson takes on the patriarchy in a Punch and Judy Show and enjoy Watson yet again trying to peddle the Book of Life in his Music Hall market scene!
Using music composed especially for the production, puppetry, magic and some questionable Victorian melodrama in a high-energy, physical, comedic pantomime, the production also tackles the wider issues of fake news, feminism and sheer force of will as it flies through the legend of Irene Adler’s great escapade, bringing in some of Sherlock Holmes’ favourite other stories and characters.
The production is written and directed by Francesca De Sica, who also stars as Dr Watson. Di Sica previously appeared in Struts and Frets productions of The Tempest and Henry V. Elizabeth Appleby, whose other credits include the Lazarus Theatre production of Caucasian Chalk Circle and Arrows and Traps’ Titus Andronicus and The Taming of the Shrew, takes on the title role. Katherine Blackshaw (Mrs Hudson), Princess Donnough (Irene Adler) and Laura-Jean Richardson (King of Bohemia) complete the cast.
Sherlock Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia (and other tales) was originally commissioned by the British Council Pakistan, with Struts and Frets taking the production there in April 2019. It was created to travel like a Victorian circus, using portable costumes, props, lighting, sound and music to tackle political, social, historical and cultural issues for positive change.
When it returned to London to play at the Camden People’s Theatre this summer, it received five-star feedback, being described by audiences as “Clever, witty and very entertaining,” “Fast-paced, funny and engaging,” and “A must see for any Sherlock Holmes buffs”.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, surely the world’s most famous detective, in the late 19th century, with Holmes first appearing in 1887’s A Study in Scarlet. In total, Conan-Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories about the crime-solving Londoner.
The famous sleuth has been brought to stages and screens in numerous ways over the years. According to Guinness World Records, he is the ‘most portrayed movie character’, having been played by more than 70 actors in more than 200 films. Among the most famous portrayals of the character are Basil Rathbone‘s deerstalker-wearing detective, Jeremy Brett‘s 1980s TV Sherlock and Benedict Cumberbatch‘s re-invigorating modern take on the character.
About Struts and Frets Theatre
Struts and Frets Theatre is a London-based multinational team of independent theatre practitioners with relationships stretching back almost 30 years. They aim to use their diverse and collective talents to collaborate and create challenging and unconventional productions, through innovation or by commission, and to promote cultural, political and gender equality and discussion through the arts, engaging an audience with a view to promoting positive change and transformation, in the individual and in society. Their previous productions include a 16-strong all-female production of Henry V, staged at the Edinburgh Festival and at Peckham’s Asylum Chapel, and a production of The Tempest for Fressos Women’s Festival.
