The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre

This year, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is part of the line up of summer theatre fun at the stunning Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, which is located in the heart of Chester. Taking inspiration from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's well-known and well-loved characters, playwright Molly Taylor attempts to modernise and localise Sherlock's adventures by placing the story in Chester, with Chester CrimeCon taking place and a podcast providing flashbacks to the notorious 'The Chester Conundrum' Case solved by Holmes and Watson. In this iteration, Sherlock's sidekick becomes Jo Watson, a local Chester girl and together the pair work together to solve the case of a missing painting.

Unfortunately, whilst one would expect a story full of mystery and intrigue, Taylor's iteration only provides predictable plot twists that does not take a detective to figure out, and moments of humour and audience participation that almost lean in too heavily into pantomime. This is not to say that it's not an enjoyable watch, which was clear from the audience's reaction, however, this production unfortunately feels massively underwhelming in comparison to productions from previous years.

The cast all do a commendable job with the material given and they all give their all into their performances, although the material does tend to lend its hand to a few characters feeling more like caricatures rather than fully fleshed out characters. Ethan Reid is a convincing Sherlock, heavily leaning into the pompous and egocentric character not too dissimilar to Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal. Reid wins the audience over instantaneously and his natural chemistry with Alyce Liburd as his partner in solving crimes, Jo Watson, is admirable. Eddy Westbury gives a solid performance with his multi-role of characters, giving versatility and depth into each character.

Ellie Hurt's direction ensures that the piece is paced well, with the cast utilising the space to maintain engagement. Although used sporadically, Dan Bradley's sound design is impactful in creating atmosphere, particularly in a moment of a helicopter surrounding the theatre which felt lifelike. Whilst the actors pair up as musicians for this performance, it felt like there was not much of a spotlight on their talents for this show. With a short tune being repeated several times as an attempt at humour, it unfortunately limited the ability for the cast to demonstrate their musical abilities. However, a fun scene in a karaoke bar was a delightful snippet!

Overall, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes provides an enjoyable summer evening of entertainment, however, one can't help but feel slightly let down by the overall production quality. For a show to be advertised as "Sherlock's most intriguing and personal mystery yet", one would expect a storyline to be shocked at. However, this reviewer left the theatre feeling mildly entertained but very dissatisfied.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes runs at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre until 31st August, alternating with other shows, Pride and Prejudice and Alice and Wonderland.

Tickets and More Information

★★☆☆☆ (2*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Mark McNulty