Sherlock Holmes and the Ripper Murders at the Genesian Theatre
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE RIPPER MURDERS
GENESIAN THEATRE APRIL- JUNE 2019
The Genesian Theatre has been transformed
into the eerie , foggy lanes of late 19th
century Whitechapel in London .The foyer and auditorium are plastered with the
screaming headlines of the newspapers of
the day regarding the Jack the Ripper murders . ( Theories still abound to day
as to who the Ripper actually was) .
The play blends fact fiction and
fantasy -the grisly serial killings of
prostitutes and vulnerable women in Victorian Whitechapel, dubbed by the
popular press the work of 'Jack the Ripper' horrify London and the world . In
Brian Clemen’s play, London is tense and edgy- and the great detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr John H Watson become
entangled in one of the darkest plots ever to shake the foundations of
England.There are Freemasons, conspiracies and plots at the highest level of
the Establishment . Royalty,the
artist Walter Sickert and one of the leading surgeons of the day are involved
.Does Homes work out who the Ripper is ?
In this play, he is not very successful as the
Ripper attacks several victims before Holmes unravels the truth and discovers
and exposes the number of people in high places who are involved, but is forced
to keep everything under wraps for Queen and country as well as avoiding
scandal and for the sake of the Freemason ‘brotherhood’ . ( Interestingly there
is no mention of Mycroft , Holmes’ brother , who sometimes ‘IS the British government’ ) .
There are touching references to Irene Adler, who
to Holmes always was The Woman with
Kate Mead ‘reading’ the coin now on a gold watchchain that Irene had given him
in A Scandal in Bohemia . There are
also references to The Speckled Band
.
In this production, as designed by
Bronte Barnicoat ,the rooms of fabled 221B Baker St are bare - no VR bullet
holes ,no Persian slipper with tobacco, no violin or masses of papers
everywhere . A window and various brandy balloons as well as a coatrack , chairs and doors are however included .The
wonderful period costumes were designed by Peter Hensen.
There are lots of fluid scene changes at the
front half of the stage as well, various Ripper victims and police and Homes
and Watson dashing around. In Act
2 ropes dangle off a post on the side of the stage representing the
dockyards.
Our Holmes, John
Willis-Richards , has the required hawk like profile and stylishly channels his inner Basil Rathbone ( rather
than ,say ,Jeremy Brett ) . We first see him injecting himself with cocaine.
Holmes is feline at times , and , while chivalrous , mostly aloof and rather
arrogant - a cool thinking machine. (
data , Watson , data! ) ( Well ,mostly … most unusually he gradually falls for Kate Mead, a gifted psychic/clairvoyant . )
Dr John Watson , Holmes’ foil , companion
and biographer was excellently portrayed by Peter David Allison as
intelligent and caring but somewhat annoyed when he feels he is being left out
of the investigation .
Our leading lady Kate Mead (stunning
costumes! ) is a gifted psychic who becomes embroiled in the cases Holmes and
Watson become involved in and was deliciously played by Zoe Crawford .
Mrs Hudson the long suffering landlady of
221B was efficiently portrayed by Sandra
Bass
Several of the able
supporting cast ensemble played multiple roles. The sinister coachman, John Netley, as played by Matthew Carufel becomes
more disturbing all the time we first see him as the seemingly charming ‘Jack the Lad’ yet he flourishes a knife to
the accompaniment of a dissonant crash and screech .Warren Paul Glover played Saunders and Lord Salisbury, Peter Bertoni played the unexpected Stranger who
turns up at Holmes’ door and collapses , as well as Bradbury .Celeste Loyzaga played Ripper victims Catherine
Eddowes and Annie Crooks and Heaven-Cheyenne Campbell played
other unfortunate Ripper fatalities Mary Kelly and a Young Woman. Douglas Spafford energetically portrayed a
Lamplighter, a Policeman and a Beggar.
The sinister world of Whitechapel and the Ripper murders
leaves us with a sense of unease …
Running time just under 2 & ½ hours including one
interval
Sherlock Holmes and the Ripper Murders runs at the Genesian
Theatre 27 April – 15 June 2019
Production
|
|
Director
|
Jess Davis
|
Assistant Director
|
Amahlia Day
|
Set Design
|
Bronte Barnicoat
|
Costume Design
|
Peter Henson
|
Lighting and Sound Design
|
Michael Schell
|
Cast
|
|
Sherlock Holmes
|
John Willis-Richards
|
Dr John Watson
|
Peter David Allison
|
Katherine 'Kate' Mead
|
Zoë Crawford
|
Sir Robert Anderson
|
James Charles
|
Sir William Gull
|
David Stewart-Hunter
|
John Netley
|
Matthew Carufel
|
Prince Eddy
Bradbury |
Peter Bertoni
|
Mrs Hudson
|
Sandra Bass
|
Saunders
Lord Salisbury |
Warren Paul Glover
|
Lamplighter
Policeman Beggar Drunk Potter |
Douglas Spafford
|
Catherine Eddowes
Annie Crooks Maisie |
Celeste Loyzaga
|
Mary Kelly
Young Woman |
Heaven-Cheyenne Campbell
|
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