site search by freefind advanced

 Connecting professional and amateur theatre in Newbury, West Berkshire and beyond

Watermill Theatre

Box office

01635 46044. www.watermill.org.uk

The Watermill Theatre, Bagnor, Newbury, RG20 8AE.
@WatermillTh

Next

Reviews of Sherlock Holmes and the Poison Wood

2nd February to 16th March 2024

Review from Newbury Theatre.

What, another rock musical from the Watermill? Following October’s rock Macbeth, Sherlock Holmes and the Poison Wood comes with a fearsome trigger warning including hate crime, suicide, anxiety, mental breakdown, murder, and racist, ableist, transphobic and fatphobic language. If that hasn’t put you off, congratulations – you’re in for a treat.

The music and lyrics by Ben Glasstone is a mixture of rock and ballads, with clever lyrics and a fast patter-like pace (think rap and/or Gilbert and Sullivan).

The production is by Metta Theatre who are proud of their diversity with a gender-fluid and neurodiverse team and these themes are reflected in the play.

Sherlock Holmes is brought into the 21st century, with a guitar replacing his violin, and Watson very keen on promoting him via social media. Dylan Wood is authoritative as Holmes and well matched by Me’sha Bryan’s feisty Dr Watson. Gillian Kirkpatrick is a smoothly evil Moriarty and EM Williams is the troubled protester Yorri. Richard P. Peralta is splendid as the food-loving Lestrade.

The singing is excellent throughout and the cast of eight all contribute to the music on guitar, violin, keyboard and drums.

The plot revolves around Moriarty’s attempts to kill Holmes and create a worldwide potato cultivar monopoly.

William Reynolds’ set is a simple white room which is brilliantly transformed by Matt Powell’s projection into an ever-moving display of pictures and text relating to what’s happening. This is very well done and doesn’t distract from the action. In addition, there are surtitles with the text and lyrics. Although all the cast speak and sing very clearly, it’s helpful (especially for those of us who are hard of hearing) to glance up occasionally to check. I hope the Watermill will make use of surtitles in other productions.

Written and directed by P Burton-Morgan, with good pace and excellent acting and singing, this is a production that, with its modern staging, music and social media references will appeal to adults of all ages and maybe shift the average audience age down a notch.

With its slightly silly plot, lots of humour and great music and acting, I can thoroughly recommend it.

PAUL SHAVE

Review from the Guardian.

two stars
Sherlock Holmes and the Poison Wood, a co-production between the Watermill and Metta Theatre, is written and directed by P Burton-Morgan, with music by Ben Glasston, who is also co-lyricist. The action, set in the present day, takes the form of a rock musical, with eight accomplished actor-musicians. Holmes (Dylan Wood) is both celebrated detective and electric-guitar playing youth, obsessed by his mother and her negative effect on his eating patterns. Nutritionist Dr Amanda Watson (Me’sha Bryan) runs Sherlock’s social media accounts and all the practical aspects of his life (laundry, food, bins), while also bringing up her family of three.

An approach by Yorri, a mother-dominated “hippy” protesting at big-pharma experimentation in a wood (EM Williams), leads Holmes to battle once more with his arch enemy: nature-attacking, mother-resenting Jan Moriarty (Gillian Kirkpatrick). The forces of social media are unleashed. A maligned Holmes becomes a target for trolls; Watson’s children receive death threats. Tables are turned and the same trolls praise Holmes as “the one”.

Interesting ideas, here, struggle for attention. Focus on characters’ personal issues disrupts the dynamics of the saving-the-world adventure story, the narrative demands of which hustle along the individuals’ journeys towards self-understanding, making it difficult for us to engage with them emotionally. Glasston’s rocking music has a similarly fractured quality, in spite of at least one hummable chorus (Elementary) and affecting ballads from Yorri (Flower) and Watson (Care). Case closed? More a work in progress, worth developing, but on press night a bumpy ride.

CLARE BRENNAN

Review from the Newbury Weekly News and the British Theatre Guide.

Watermill world premiere rocks #Sherlock for the social media age

The adventures of crime-busting Sherlock Holmes have been widely adapted for film and television and now as a new bold modern rock musical, written and directed by P Burton-Morgan, with music by Ben Glasstone. It has its world premiere at the Watermill Theatre in collaboration with Metta Theatre.

Adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, Sherlock Holmes and the Poison Wood is set in modern day London with all the dependence on social media platforms and concerns of climate and ecological issues at its centre.

Dylan Wood is impressive as the guitar playing, rapping young Sherlock, who together with his landlady and fervent nutritionist Dr Amanda Watson - an engaging performance from Me’sha Bryan - who has built up huge numbers of social media followers all prefaced with hash tags are a crime fighting duo.

Activist Yorri Tremaly (Em Williams) is unhappy about the unexplained death of her friend at the infamous Oakenwood crisp factory and visit Sherlock to persuade him to take on the investigation as themed in the song Elementary.

They accept the case and Sherlock decides to go undercover and infiltrate the camp. He suspects that his arch-nemesis Jan Moriarty, powerfully played by Gillian Kirkpatrick, is behind a dastardly plan to take control of the world. So “the game is certainly afoot”.

However, when the eco warriors come down with food poisoning, Sherlock becomes the main suspect and is arrested by donut-loving police inspector Lestrade in a delightful comic performance by Richard P Peralta, featuring a song about ‘Biscuits’. It’s hilarious.

All the actors are accomplished musicians, with Jimmy Chambers as the band leader, who also plays the role of Zephyr. Loren O’Dair plays the violin beautifully as well as the character Sasha.

There is a strong unexpected mother-daughter link I won’t spoil the reveal and the sustainable credentials are admirable, as all the set, props and costume have been made from secondhand materials and will be passed on after the production.

Special mention for Matt Powel’s inventive projections and captions that created the spirit of the production so well in this daring, gutsy musical.

ROBIN STRAPP

There are reviews from The Stage ("it’s all a treat – a mini triumph of boutique rock musical theatre" - ★★★★); Wokingham Today ("[the songs are] brilliantly played and sung and are complemented by effective use of projections... there is much to enjoy here"); WhatsOnStage ("a gripping, eye-opening and funny production... this is a real must-see" - ★★★★★); Marlborough News ("inventive, entertaining, energetic... shows like this show how richly they have deserved [Watermill Theatre of the Year]").

Reviews in the Archive

The Wizard of Oz (November 2023)
Macbeth (October 2023)
The Lord of the Rings (July 2023)
Mansfield Park (June 2023)
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (May 2023)
Visitors (March 2023)
Notes from a Small Island (February 2023)
Rapunzel (November 2022)
The Sleeping Sword (October 2022)
Othello (September 2022)
Whistle Down the Wind (July 2022)
Camp Albion (July 2022)
Bleak Expectations (May 2022)
Our Man in Havana (April 2022)
Spike (January 2022)
The Wicker Husband (March 2022)
The Jungle Book (November 2021)
Brief Encounter (October 2021)
Just So (July 2021)
As You Like It (June 2021)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (May and August 2021)
A Christmas Carol (December 2020)
Lone Flyer (October 2020)
Bloodshot (September 2020)
Camelot (August 2020)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (July 2020)
The Wicker Husband (March 2020)
The Prince and the Pauper (November 2019)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (February 2020)
One Million Tiny Plays About Britain (February 2020)
Assassins (September 2019)
Kiss Me, Kate (July 2019)
Our Church (June 2019)
The Importance of Being Earnest (May 2019)
Amélie (April 2019)
Macbeth (February 2019)
Robin Hood (November 2018)
Murder For Two (January 2019)
Jane Eyre (October 2018)
Trial by Laughter (September 2018)
Sweet Charity (July 2018)
Jerusalem (June 2018)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (May 2018)
Burke and Hare (April 2018 and on tour)
Digging For Victory Senior Youth Theatre (March 2018)
The Rivals (March 2018)
Teddy (January 2018)
The Borrowers (November 2017)
Under Milk Wood (October 2017)
Loot (September 2017)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (September 2017 and on tour)
A Little Night Music (July 2017)
All at Sea! (July 2017)
The Miller's Child (July 2017)
Nesting (July 2017 and on tour)
House and Garden (May 2017)
See Newbury Dramatic Society for a review of Maskerade (May 2016)
Twelfth Night (April 2017)
Faust x2 (March 2017)
Murder For Two (January 2017)
Sleeping Beauty (November 2016)
Frankenstein (October 2016)
The Wipers Times (September 2016)
Crazy For You (July 2016)
Watership Down (June 2016)
Untold Stories (May 2016)
See the Box Theatre Company review of The Sea (April 2016)
One Million Tiny Plays About Britain (April 2016 and on tour)
Romeo and Juliet (February 2016)
Tell Me on a Sunday (January 2016)
Alice in Wonderland (November 2015)
Gormenghast (November 2015) - see the Youth page
The Ladykillers (September 2015)
Oliver! (July 2015)
A Little History of the World (July 2015 and on tour)
Between the Lines (July 2015)
The Deep Blue Sea (June 2015)
Far From the Madding Crowd (April 2015)
Tuxedo Junction (March 2015)
The Secret Adversary (February 2015)
Peter Pan (November 2014)
But First This (October 2014)
Twelfth Night (November 2014) - see the Youth page
Journey's End (September 2014)
Calamity Jane (July 2014)
The Boxford Masques - Joe Soap's Masquerade (July 2014)
Hardboiled - the Fall of Sam Shadow (July 2014)
A Bunch of Amateurs (May 2014)
See the Box Theatre Company review of The Canterbury Tales (May 2014)
Sense and Sensibility (April 2014)
Life Lessons (March 2014)
All My Sons (February 2014)
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (January 2014)
Pinocchio (November 2013)
Sherlock's Last Case (September 2013)
Romeo+Juliet (September 2013 and on tour)
The Witches of Eastwick (July 2013)
Laurel & Hardy (June 2013)
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (May 2013)
The Miser (April 2013)
David Copperfield (March 2013)
Sleuth (February 2013)
Arabian Nights (November 2012)
The Tempest (September 2012)
Thoroughly Modern Millie (August 2012)
Boxford Masques (July 2012)
Ben Hur (June 2012)
Of Mice and Men (May 2012)
Love on the Tracks (April 2012 and on tour)
Henry V and The Winter's Tale (April 2012)
Lettice and Lovage (February 2012)
The Wind in the Willows (November 2011)
Some Like It Hotter (November 2011 and on tour)
Great Expectations (September 2011)
Radio Times (August 2011)
The Marriage of Figaro (July 2011)
Moonlight and Magnolias (May 2011)
Richard III and The Comedy of Errors (April 2011)
The Clodly Light Opera and Drama Society (March 2011)
Relatively Speaking (February 2011)
Treasure Island (November 2010)
Single Spies (September 2010)
Copacabana (July 2010)
Daisy Pulls It Off (June 2010)
Brontë (April 2010)
Raising Voices (March 2010)
Confused Love (March 2010)
Heroes (February 2010)
James and the Giant Peach (November 2009)
Educating Rita (October 2009)
Spend Spend Spend! (July 2009 and September 2010)
Blithe Spirit (May 2009)
Bubbles (April to May and September to October 2009)
A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merchant of Venice (March 2009)
Life X 3 (January 2009)
Matilda and Duffy's Stupendous Space Adventure (November 2008)
The Sirens' Call (November 2008)
Our Country's Good (September 2008)
See Newbury Dramatic Society for a review of The Recruiting Officer (October 2008)
Sunset Boulevard (July 2008)
Boxford Masques - Knight and Day (July 2008)
Black Comedy and The Bowmans (May 2008)
London Assurance (April 2008)
Micky Salberg's Crystal Ballroom Dance Band (April 2008 and on tour)
Great West Road (March 2008)
Merrily We Roll Along (March 2008)
Honk! (November 2007)
Rope (September 2007)
Martin Guerre (July 2007)
Twelfth Night (June 2007)
The Story of a Great Lady (April and September 2007, and on tour)
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (April 2007)
For Services Rendered (March 2007)
Plunder (January 2007)
The Snow Queen (November 2006)
Peter Pan in Scarlet (October 2006)
The Taming of the Shrew (September 2006 and on tour in 2007)
Hot Mikado (July 2006 and September 2009)
Boxford Masques: The Crowning of the Year (July 2006)
Hobson's Choice (May 2006)
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (April 2006)
Tartuffe (February 2006)
The Jungle Book (November 2005)
The Gilded Lilies (October 2005)
Copenhagen (September 2005)
The Garden of Llangoed (September 2005 and September 2006)
Thieves' Carnival (July 2005)
The Shed (July 2005)
Mack and Mabel (May 2005)
The Odyssey (May 2005)
Broken Glass (April 2005)
The Winter's Tale (January 2005)
Arabian Nights (December 2004)
See Newbury Dramatic Society for a review of Whose Life is it Anyway? (November 2004)
Multiplex (November 2004)
Neville's Island (September 2004)
The Comedian (September 2004 and March 2005)
Raising Voices Again (September 2004)
Pinafore Swing (July 2004)
The Venetian Twins (May 2004)
The Gentleman from Olmedo (April 2004)
Mr & Mrs Schultz (March 2004 and on tour)
Sweeney Todd (February 2004)
The Emperor and the Nightingale (November 2003)
See Newbury Dramatic Society for a review of An Ideal Husband (November 2003)
A Star Danced (September 2003)
The Fourth Fold (September 2003)
The Last Days of the Empire (July 2003)
Accelerate (July 2003)
Dreams from a Summer House (May 2003)
The Triumph of Love (April 2003)
Gigolo (March 2003)
Raising Voices (March 2003)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (February 2003)
The Firebird (November 2002)
Ten Cents a Dance (September 2002)
Dancing at Lughnasa (July 2002)
Love in a Maze (June 2002)
Fiddler on the Roof (April 2002)
I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls (March 2002 and March 2006)
Only a Matter of Time (February 2002)
Cinderella and the Enchanted Slipper (November 2001)
Piaf (October 2001)
The Merchant of Venice (October 2001)
Witch (September 2001)
The Clandestine Marriage (August 2001)
The Importance of Being Earnest (May 2001)
Gondoliers (March 2001)
Rose Rage (February 2001)
Carmen (July 2000)