Sherlock Holmes: A
Working Hypothesis.
The Flanagan Collective. Written by Alexander Wright. Directed by Tom Bellerby. Presented by Joanne Harstone in co-production with Greenwich Theatre. The Queens. The Red Queen. Adelaide Fringe Festival 2016. February 13 – March 14.
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| Dominic Allen is Sherlock Holmes in The Flanagan Collective's Sherlock Holmes: A Working Hypothesis. |
The game’s afoot, and eccentric Teutonic Professor Selohm
Socklehr (Dominic Allen) is about to give a lecture on the remarkable powers of
deduction and analysis at the University of Melbourne. In walks the intrepid
Dr. John Watson (George Williams) and the game is up. The anagram is unjumbled
and before the audience stands none other than the elusive Sherlock Holmes
himself. Oops! Sorry! I may have given the game away, but then there is a lot
more to come, as Holmes and Watson, with the help of an unsuspecting audience,
unravel the mysterious clues that may lead to the evil Nemesis, Moriarty.
Fans of the recent Sherlock series will be amused and
intrigued by the Flanagan Collective’s, clever, ingenious and thoroughly
entertaining spoof on Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters. Some will recognize the
lines almost word for word from the television series, and the perilous
situations in which Watson and Holmes and the audience find themselves. Even
the arrogant, rude, supercilious and erratic master sleuth, who apparently
taught Mao to swim, learnt the Dalai Lama’s real name and had dealings with the
Caliph of Khartoum is not without his flaws. He may be alright with a violin,
but the guitar and a Johnny Cash impersonation is not his forte.
Once again, the actors draw their audience into their
adventure with participatory games. In their other show, Babylon, I found this ramshackle and token, a ridiculous attempt to
engage a passive audience and stir them into political activism. In Sherlock Holmes – A Working Hypothesis ,participation
is far better integrated into the action and the semantic game of Hangman,
becomes immediately apparent as a cryptic analysis of vital clues that will
lead to the unmasking of Moriarty in the Red Queen space of The Queens Theatre.
Audience are invited to exercise their powers of deduction and piece together
the words that will provide the vital clue. The game has interest, purpose and provides challenging
entertainment. I am less enamoured of Allen’s impetuous invitation for everyone
to get to their feet and dance to the beat of Wipe Out.
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| Sherlock Holmes: A Working Hypothesis with Domiic Allen (Centre) and George Williams as Dr. John Watson (Left rear) in the York Guildhall Council Chambers, |
Unlike the participation in Babylon, the games and the unravelling of the clues is integral to
the plot and allows character to drive the plot forward. Such readily
identifiable characters are played with familiar conviction, energy and a serious
sense of fun. The result is an entertaining night of intrigue, mystery,
suspense and enough bumbling to know that even the perfect sleuth can sometimes
get things wrong, even with the straight man act of John Watson by his side.
And who does Lucy Farrett play? Could she possibly be…? Well
that is something even more mysterious than Holmes’s survival from a plunge at
the Reichenbach Falls.
I thoroughly enjoyed Sherlock
Holmes – A Working Hypothesis. It is not only that I am a long term Conan
Doyle fan. It is because this slight spoof is tightly constructed, well-acted
and shameless good fun entertainment. It is an hour well spent in the company
of the Flanagan Collective.