Sherlock Holmes and the Poison Wood at the Watermill Theatre – review

A musical catapulting the iconic Sherlock Holmes into the 21st century with all its tech and social media, reinventing the great detective as a twenty-something media icon with an electric guitar strapped across his body, rather than a violin tucked under his chin? How would that work? The answer, thanks to an extraordinarily multi-talented team of creatives and actor-musicians, is a gripping, eye-opening and funny production that is message-heavy without being preachy.

Produced in collaboration with Metta Theatre, the narrative is both a hymn to environmentalism, inclusivity and tolerance and a wonderfully witty updated take on Conan Doyle’s hugely successful creation.

Dylan Wood’s Sherlock boasts rockstar glamour on the concert stage, tempered by his somewhat eccentric deep thinking in the more homely apartment where his neighbour, Dr Amanda Watson, is a nutritionist by profession and a social media expert par excellence. Me’esha Bryan plays Holmes’ wing-woman as warm, yet firm and uncompromising, handy with a camera for those all-important selfies that make him a social media phenomenon, despite his reluctance to be in the spotlight.

Video designer Matt Powell’s scene-setting and plot-enhancing surtitles and images, projected behind and above the action and magically lit by set and lighting designer William Reynolds, instantly transform the unremarkable living room into that glamorous rock music stage, or the forest into the offices of Richard P Peralta’s hilarious police inspector Marlon Lestrade. As he works up a sugar rush, eloquently singing his appreciation of biscuits and handling a mouth-watering selection of delicious-looking donuts, Peralta’s bouncy energy works a treat.

Holmes has come to visit Lestrade because he is investigating a mysterious and distressing case, involving the poisoning of one of the encampment of climate activists established in the nearby woods. Among them, the courageous, eloquent and outspoken Yorri Tramaly becomes their spokesperson and persuades Holmes to investigate. Identifying as ‘they’, compelling EM Williams’ Yorri is a terrific poster person for the trans and non-binary community.

It’s not long before the evil Jan Moriarty, Holmes’ would-be nemesis (Gillian Kirkpatrick, sinister in an immaculately tailored white trouser suit) makes an appearance. Her favourite response to death and destruction (mainly her doing, of course) is a dismissive “people die every day”, as she apparently pulls some deadly plot strings… and before long the game is afoot.

What continues to impress throughout is the sheer inventiveness of the storytelling and the utter delight of the book and lyrics of director P Burton-Morgan, coupled with the music of composer, co-lyric writer and orchestrator Ben Glasstone. The comic rhymes come thick and fast and the surtitles, in this instance, enhance the audience’s experience without intruding. There is a violin too, played by cast member and dance captain Loren O’Dair, who leads the cast in sharing the high energy of movement director Mark Smith’s choreography.

The urgent messages about climate change – enhanced by ideas like building the set from ‘pre-loved’ components – and about inclusivity and tolerance, are magnified by the fun and energy of the production, in my opinion. This a real must-see from the award-winning Watermill Theatre.