The Gazette
May 10, 2013
By Pat Donnelly
Read the review
Sherlock Holmes: The case of the splendid staging
MONTREAL - Sherlock Holmes is back. Not that he has ever gone away since the publication of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Study in Scarlet in 1887. The consulting detective connected immediately with the public and his books have remained in print ever since, charting the path for modern crime fiction and enticing generations of filmmakers, theatre mangers and television producers to jump on the bandwagon. Some claim Sherlock is the most ubiquitous character in the history of film. But he has been a steady presence on stage, too, in musicals, as well as plays.
His latest stage incarnation, in the late Greg Kramer’s play Sherlock Holmes starring Jay Baruchel at the Segal Centre, has some of the modern tendency to colloquialize the character. But he remains, sans cellphone and riding invisible horse-drawn carriages, in the Victorian era where he belongs.
Baruchel, a noted film actor making his professional stage debut, is not an obvious choice for the role. But his energetic portrayal fits director Andrew Shaver’s beautifully staged production of Kramer’s irreverent parody based on several Conan Doyle works. And he’s surrounded by an outstanding ensemble (many of them from Shaver’s Sidemart Theatrical Grocery company). Kramer, who was born and raised in the U.K., knew Sherlock inside out, so even the purist Sherlockians of Montreal’s Sherlock Holmes Society (dubbed The Bimetallic Question) are likely to appreciate his writing — while decrying some of the hipster flourishes, of course.
Baruchel comes on full throttle, sounding passably British, sucking the trademark pipe and using frantic ticks and ingenious stage business to win laughs. He’s firmly backed up by Karl Graboshas, as a sincere, understated Watson. Their rapid-fire exchange in which Watson keeps interrupting Sherlock halfway through the word “elementary” is hilarious.
On opening night, Baruchel fumbled a few lines and cracked up while tiptoeing around a crime scene. But he recovered quickly, and given the Saturday Night Live spirit of the piece, no harm was done.
There are murders to be solved, of course, in Sherlock Holmes. A body has been found at the harbour. A prominent member of the House of Lords, an advocate for the illegalization of opium, has gone missing. His wife, Lady Irene St. John, wittily played to the edge of melodramatic caricature by Gemma James-Smith, asks Holmes to solve the case. London’s “Napoleon of Crime,” Professor James Moriarity (Kyle Gatehouse, in fine form), is behind it all, of course, with Colonel Sebastian Moran (Graham Cuthbertson, dead on) as his henchman. And Scotland Yard’s Inspector George Lestrade (Patrick Costello, just right) struggles, as usual, to solve the case.
Actors like Trent Pardy, Chip Chuipka and Matt Gagnon, who alternate between several roles, do some of the most inspiring work, reinventing themselves in entertaining ways. Mary Harvey is credible as the no-nonsense housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson. But Deena Aziz rings out of tune as the conniving Orchid, due to fluctuating accent syndrome.
While James Lavoie’s costuming is more or less period, his set design is high-tech, making brilliant use of projections on shifting scrims to bring up haunting images of Victorian London. A stage-wide scalloped curtain heightens the illusion of another time. Luc Prairie’s lyrical lighting and Jesse Ash’s sound design complete a slick package, orchestrated by one of Canada’s best directors. Shaver is tops.
This hyperactive production, marked with the urgency of paying homage to a playwright who was found dead on the first day of rehearsal, is an off-Broadway contender. It needs some judicious editing, particularly in the second act where, fight scenes notwithstanding, it loses narrative momentum. But this team can do it.
Sherlock Holmes, by Greg Kramer, based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, continues at the Segal Centre until May 28. Call 514-739-7944 or visit www.segalcentre.org.
May 10, 2013
By Pat Donnelly
Read the review
Sherlock Holmes: The case of the splendid staging
MONTREAL - Sherlock Holmes is back. Not that he has ever gone away since the publication of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Study in Scarlet in 1887. The consulting detective connected immediately with the public and his books have remained in print ever since, charting the path for modern crime fiction and enticing generations of filmmakers, theatre mangers and television producers to jump on the bandwagon. Some claim Sherlock is the most ubiquitous character in the history of film. But he has been a steady presence on stage, too, in musicals, as well as plays.
His latest stage incarnation, in the late Greg Kramer’s play Sherlock Holmes starring Jay Baruchel at the Segal Centre, has some of the modern tendency to colloquialize the character. But he remains, sans cellphone and riding invisible horse-drawn carriages, in the Victorian era where he belongs.
Baruchel, a noted film actor making his professional stage debut, is not an obvious choice for the role. But his energetic portrayal fits director Andrew Shaver’s beautifully staged production of Kramer’s irreverent parody based on several Conan Doyle works. And he’s surrounded by an outstanding ensemble (many of them from Shaver’s Sidemart Theatrical Grocery company). Kramer, who was born and raised in the U.K., knew Sherlock inside out, so even the purist Sherlockians of Montreal’s Sherlock Holmes Society (dubbed The Bimetallic Question) are likely to appreciate his writing — while decrying some of the hipster flourishes, of course.
Baruchel comes on full throttle, sounding passably British, sucking the trademark pipe and using frantic ticks and ingenious stage business to win laughs. He’s firmly backed up by Karl Graboshas, as a sincere, understated Watson. Their rapid-fire exchange in which Watson keeps interrupting Sherlock halfway through the word “elementary” is hilarious.
On opening night, Baruchel fumbled a few lines and cracked up while tiptoeing around a crime scene. But he recovered quickly, and given the Saturday Night Live spirit of the piece, no harm was done.
There are murders to be solved, of course, in Sherlock Holmes. A body has been found at the harbour. A prominent member of the House of Lords, an advocate for the illegalization of opium, has gone missing. His wife, Lady Irene St. John, wittily played to the edge of melodramatic caricature by Gemma James-Smith, asks Holmes to solve the case. London’s “Napoleon of Crime,” Professor James Moriarity (Kyle Gatehouse, in fine form), is behind it all, of course, with Colonel Sebastian Moran (Graham Cuthbertson, dead on) as his henchman. And Scotland Yard’s Inspector George Lestrade (Patrick Costello, just right) struggles, as usual, to solve the case.
Actors like Trent Pardy, Chip Chuipka and Matt Gagnon, who alternate between several roles, do some of the most inspiring work, reinventing themselves in entertaining ways. Mary Harvey is credible as the no-nonsense housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson. But Deena Aziz rings out of tune as the conniving Orchid, due to fluctuating accent syndrome.
While James Lavoie’s costuming is more or less period, his set design is high-tech, making brilliant use of projections on shifting scrims to bring up haunting images of Victorian London. A stage-wide scalloped curtain heightens the illusion of another time. Luc Prairie’s lyrical lighting and Jesse Ash’s sound design complete a slick package, orchestrated by one of Canada’s best directors. Shaver is tops.
This hyperactive production, marked with the urgency of paying homage to a playwright who was found dead on the first day of rehearsal, is an off-Broadway contender. It needs some judicious editing, particularly in the second act where, fight scenes notwithstanding, it loses narrative momentum. But this team can do it.
Sherlock Holmes, by Greg Kramer, based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, continues at the Segal Centre until May 28. Call 514-739-7944 or visit www.segalcentre.org.