Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review.
This production ambitiously brings together several of Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories, most notably including A Scandal in Bohemia and The Final Problem, appealing enthusiastic fans of the books but perhaps at the expense of a pacy, gripping plot at times. Our stage is set with the remains of 221B Baker Street, with a familiar and atmospheric set design by Victoria Spearing, which was a highlight of the play’s composition.
The nation’s favourite detective is back to
Derbyshire this week, as Sherlock
Holmes and The Hunt for Moriarty hits
Derby Theatre from 5 – 9 May in a night
of detection, deception and crime. It is
London, 1901 and Sherlock finds himself
longing for an intellectual battle following
the disappearance of long-time nemesis
Moriarty. Bored by the petty crimes he is
forced to investigate, Sherlock rises to
the challenge when asked by the British
government – and brother Mycroft- to
recover some important missing
documents with the help of friend and
sidekick Dr Watson. But as the pair begin
to unravel recent events, they realise that
perhaps these petty crimes are not as
insignificant as they once thought, and in
following them, they could perhaps be led
back to the sinister Mr ‘M’ himself.
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| Photo by Asun Olivan |
This production ambitiously brings together several of Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories, most notably including A Scandal in Bohemia and The Final Problem, appealing enthusiastic fans of the books but perhaps at the expense of a pacy, gripping plot at times. Our stage is set with the remains of 221B Baker Street, with a familiar and atmospheric set design by Victoria Spearing, which was a highlight of the play’s composition.
The set used was
incredibly versatile, easily switching
between Sherlock’s familiar home, train
tracks, underground meetings and other
key Victorian elements. This was also
paired with some useful and engaging
projections, designed by Mark Hooper,
combining traditional and modern theatre
with careful thought and pleasing results.
It is in the composition of the plot itself
that I have some doubt; with an extended
running time of 2 hours and 30 minutes
plus an interval, I did at times find myself
unengaged and think that perhaps the
cutting of one of the short stories would
have allowed for a quicker, more thrilling
audience experience.
Our narrator and friend, Dr Watson, is
played by Ben Owora, who is able to
cleverly switch between scenes and
breaking the fourth wall in a way that is
engaging. As an audience member, you
feel safe with Owara and his asides make
the plot far easier to follow, although at
times I don’t feel that the duo’s warmth
and friendship for each other was fully
realised. Mark Knightly’s Sherlock was
quite a dark and brooding character,
much less eccentric or quirky than
previous iterations of the character
performed famously on screen. For me,
this made the character somewhat
unrecognisable at times but did give a
fresh take on the role.
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| Photo by Asun Olivan |
All female roles
were performed by Pippa Caddick, who
most notably played Mrs Hudson and
Irene Adler, amongst others. Her Mrs
Hudson was integral to the solving of
some cases, providing a slightly more
‘switched on’ version that past iterations
but I did find that this did make Sherlock
himself come across as less remarkable.
Pippa, though, was able to switch
between roles quickly and often, taking
on a large proportion of the play’s script.
All remaining roles were then split
between three actors: Gavin Molloy, Eliot
Giuralarocca and Robbie Capaldi, a large
undertaking for the trio which they rose
to. In particular, Gavin Molloy’s Lestrade
was incredibly book accurate and
engaging and I specifically enjoyed his
performance and versality, which I won’t
spoil here. The only limiting factor to a
cast of this size was that in moments,
characters were referencing other names
and reporting on events that they
themselves had just done, requiring the
audience to suspend their disbelief
somewhat. But as an entirety, the cast
worked tirelessly playing multiple roles as
well as regularly scene-shifting and their
efforts should be applauded.
Many audience members- particularly
those who love Conan Doyle’s original
material – will be captivated by the
ambitious creation of such a wide range
of stories.
For me, this was a production
that lacked real thrill but do go and see
for yourselves and help Sherlock to solve
the mysteries of Moriarty!
⭐⭐⭐
Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Moriarty runs Derby Theatre until Saturday 9th May 2026. Tickets are available from https://derbytheatre.co.uk/event/sherlock-holmes-the-hunt-for-moriarty/
The show tours until 23rd May 2026. For dates and venues visit https://blackeyedtheatre.co.uk/shows-2/shows/sherlock-holmes-and-the-hunt-for-moriarty/
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| Photo by Asun Olivan |
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