Review : Sherlock Holmes : The Hunt for Moriarty

I recently went to see this play in Guildford. Here is my review.

I am afraid to say this play had its issues. The set design is amazing and is utilised well during the performance. But we have to move straight to the negatives.

Firstly, the play is created by merging elements of several short stories (around seven) together. Therein lies the problem. Too many have been used with the result that the play is far too long. I think it could have been shortened by at least thirty minutes (possibly more). Too many characters and plot points are introduced that are unnecessary.

Secondly, there is insufficient action. Far too many people have the idea that Holmes is purely cerebral and that is far from the case. Yet, this play was often just a series of characters uttering long pieces of dialogue in the manner of a lecture. The few fight scenes that did exist were good but over too quickly.

The actor playing Holmes, Mark Knightley, came across as not wanting to be there and determined to get it over with. Maybe this was him trying to portray the cold logician but I'm not certain. In any event, I was left feeling that he did not understand the character.

His Watson, Ben Owora, looked similarly unenthused and this resulted in a lack of chemistry between the two. The idea that they could have been long-standing room mates was barely credible.

The other actors all put in sterling performances even when playing the characters I considered unnecessary.

This play has garnered many good reviews so it clearly has something going for it. Perhaps it just wasn't to my taste. I stand by my assertion that, with a tighter script, it would have been a lot better.

3/5 stars.