‘Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Lipstick Ketchup and Blood’ An adaptation by Lesley Hart
Pitlochry Festival Theatre Amphitheatre - 16/09/23
Fortunately, the weather stood fair for an enjoyable outdoor performance in the beautiful Explorer’s Garden in the grounds of Pitlochry Theatre. This small wooden half ‘O’ set overlooking the Perthshire hills is a perfect setting for a dynamic two hander. Back by popular command, anything featuring the exploits of Sherlock Holmes fits the bill perfectly. Writer Lesley Hart has relocated the setting to a future time when the earth is largely uninhabitable. The focus being the forging of the relationship between Holmes and Watson seen through two survivors putting on a stage version of Scarlet to an imaginary audience. The chalk board indicates over 200 hundred goes. A man and a woman thrust together with a shared enthusiasm for investigation, problem solving, theatre and survival. The very essence of theatre in adversity. It is performed by two stellar ensemble actors, Dierdre Davis and Ben Stock. They tackle the witty dialogue, comedy and tragedy of this fast-moving piece with dexterity, high energy and professionalism. The set was simply a combination of odd pieces of furniture artfully movable and useful and the simple soundtracks fortunately did not intrude on the action. The packed audience sitting on the hard wooden benches (some had brought cushions and waterproofs) were entranced. It seems over the past few years that this venue in the woods has staged some of the best plays of the summer season at Pitlochry. This is a partnership with OVO. I am sure the good people of St Albans enjoy this production as much as Pitlochry.
Running in repertoire until 22nd September.
