P.S. Though I tried everything to make things as discreet as possible, for the clever reader, you may spot some spoilers to Jeffrey Hatcher’s stageplay “Holmes and Watson.” Read on and carry on at your discretion. 🤣
“It’s elementary, Watson”... or is it. Jeffrey Hatcher’s “Holmes and Watson” kept me on the tip of my toes in guessing the real identity of Sherlock Holmes for two hours. But the real mystery is much deeper and far more intricate than I had predicted (cue in dramatic, Dun! Dun! Dunn!). Hatcher’s play features not one, but three very different versions of Sherlock Holmes, played by Ted Powers, Lawrence Stevenson and Joseph Van Deen. For those who have read Sherlock Holmes’s so-called “comeback” story,“ The Adventure of the Empty House” (1903), you might you know which of the three Sherlock Holmes is the “real” one, but Hatcher’s play tests and plays with your knowledge of what you think you know of the Sherlockian canon and its characters.
The premise of the play is that Sherlock Holmes is dead after having fallen into the depth of Reinchbach falls with his archnemesis, Moriarty, in "The Adventure of the Final Problem" (1893). It begins with Watson, who receives a telegram that takes him to an asylum on a mysterious island where he meets Dr. Evan, played by Robert Frances–a psychiatrist whose three patients all claim they are Sherlock Holmes. It is up to Watson (and the audience) to figure out the real identity of Holmes and to solve the case of what happened to Holmes after the incident at Reichenbach falls.
I particularly thought Daryn DeWalt’s performance was brilliant. I loved how he delivered the humor and wit of Hatcher’s adaptation of the character of Conan Doyle’s Watson–it was quite remarkable. (And all those lines that he had to memorize!)
Perhaps, my favorite moment was at the end of the play, when the real Sherlock Holmes is revealed. Standing against the backdrop of the red sunset, Holmes appears centre stage wearing his deer stalker hat and carrying his pipe, creating that iconic silhouette, which brings the stage play to a close.
There is so much I want to say that I ought not to say for the sake of spoiling the play. The last day of the performance was held on October 8th at the Fairview Library Theatre. If you ever get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it! If you want to read the play, I found a preview of it online here.