Kate Hamill is an American actor and playwright who has concentrated on ‘contemporary’ adaptations of classic novels such as Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Vanity Fair, Dracula etc, rather than creating completely new work. Her stories are “female-centred and feminist“, her theatrical style veering towards Theatre of the Absurd, while examining social and gender issues“. (Wikipedia).
Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson -Apt 2B was written in 2021 as a “cheerful desecration” of Sherlock Holmes and first staged at Kansas Rep the following year. But, for a British audience, certainly, she says nothing new, as well as saying it at length and many, many times!
The main reason for seeing this first UK production at the ever-welcoming Arcola Theatre is Max Dorey’s striking set, showing Holmes’ ‘mucky’, never-cleaned, twenty-first century Bachelor pad, cleverly constructed on two levels and featuring years of dirt and grime as well as a wardrobe through which, for some reason never disclosed, characters appear and disappear. This is effectively lit by David Howe with some interesting costumes designed by Sara Perks, even if the nuns’ habits could have done with a wash, though perhaps this was on purpose!
Also, most imaginative are the sound effects by Hattie North, most noticeably the continual rumbling of a tube train with lights flashing and the various projections (uncredited), unfortunately hidden from view to many members of the audience!
The cast of four works extremely hard to extract everything it can from the script. As Sherlock Holmes, Lucy Farrett is rather one-dimensional, but does the very best she can with the writing, which does not allow her to create a believable role, but just use one facial expression. It is a shame that in her efforts to get through the play as quickly as possible, her enunciation suffers.
Most successful in role is Simona Brown, who is listed in the programme as playing ” Dr Joan Watson”, but who spends a great deal of time in telling everyone that she is not a doctor: it is not amusing the first time, and it certainly isn’t the fiftieth! Brown contrives to be less manic, more relaxed than the other three, and is therefore more believable, but this says much more about her competence as an actor than it does about the writing!
Tendai Humphrey Sitima is both Lestrade and Eliot Monk (whoever that is!), but fails to differentiate his roles, and Alice Lucy has the unenviable task of being Irene Adler, Mrs Hudson and Mrs Drebber (whoever that is!), often exhibiting interesting facial expressions but being hampered, as is everyone else in the cast, by not being given enough to work with by the playwright.
Act One tries in vain to be amusing, and may well be to an American audience, but humour is a strange thing and often does not travel well from one side of the Atlantic to the other! What is often irritating is the continual repetition of words and phrases such as “elementary” or “the game is afoot” which are not in any respect funny the first time, and gain nothing on being heard many, many, many times! Act Two appears to be in a totally different style, most of the scenes being duologues, and the actors are occasionally actually allowed to “act”, but the pace is very slow throughout and by the time the play has been running for two hours and three quarters, Hamill has lost her audience: the plot is so confusing, and she is the type of writer who, given the choice of twenty words or two to say the same thing, will always choose twenty! Sean Turner, the director, has succeeded in giving the first half terrific pace, in spite of the playwright, but even he cannot disguise the turgid nature of what he is working with after the interval.
Review by John Groves
From one of America’s most-produced playwrights comes a whip-smart, darkly comic collision of classic mystery and modern mayhem.
Kate Hamill reimagines Holmes and Watson as a fiercely funny, gloriously dysfunctional duo navigating post-pandemic London with sharp wits and banter.
Packed with hijinks, high-stakes sleuthing and a bold feminist twist, this play dives headfirst into the chaos of contemporary Baker Street.
For Holmes devotees, comedy lovers and anyone who enjoys a clever caper with bite. This is Sherlock… just not as you know her.
COMPANY
Sherlock Holmes – Lucy Farrett
Dr. Joan Watson – Simona Brown
Lestrade / Elliot Monk – Tendai Humphrey Sitima
Irene Adler / Mrs. Hudson / Mrs. Drebber – Alice Lucy
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer – Kate Hamill
Director – Sean Turner
Set Designer – Max Dorey
Costume Designer – Sara Perks
Lighting Designer – David Howe
Sound Designer – Hattie North
Fight Director – Marcello Marascalchi
MS. HOLMES & MS. WATSON – APT. 2B
Arcola Theatre
27 November to 20 December 2025
