A 2-Act Sherlockian play
This over-sized Trade Paperback is actually a script for a 2-Act play. To a reviewer, commenting on a play-script is a difficult task. It takes a different mind-set and viewpoint to see and appreciate the possibilities presented by a script than it does to evaluate a book. Books, after all, are complete presentations, but a play requires the artistic talents of a director, of set and costume designers and of a cast of individual actors to produce a complete experience for the audience.
Keeping those limitations in mind, I can only give an opinion of this work that comes from my own, limited artistic abilities and experiences with the world of the theater. I read a script that has amusing points and a modest amount of action. The characters were strongly described and the dialogue was mostly sensible and to the point. No one seemed to be addressing the ages, but rather the lines all aided in telling a story and exposing the views and thoughts of interesting people.
The actual story told is fairly simple, as required to fit into a mere two acts. The familiar characters, Holmes, Watson and Mrs. Hudson all seemed to fit their pictures as presented in the Canon. The Mycroft presented here was a bit strange. His tongue may have been tied by orders from above or he may have been flummoxed by the situation (how???) but he seemed to be separated from the action by more than his professional viewpoint. One gets the feeling that the situation, for Mycroft, is artificial, and that more is actually in process than is revealed in the play. Either that, or Mycroft has suffered a stroke or memory loss of some sort and is not functioning at anywhere near his normal level.
The Irish Peer and his family and the various agents and commons involved all do their jobs and the events proceed in sensible and logical fashion. Holmes makes the necessary deductions and events seem to fall into logical patterns. Again, the anomaly seems to be Mycroft. His actions are difficult to understand and his attitudes seem concentrated elsewhere.
I would enjoy seeing a performance of this play, given a competent production company. The author has a distinct view and the familiar characters, other than Mycroft, are handled well. There may be reasons for Mycroft?s eccentricities, but they do not show up in the script.
Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, May 2012