#blackeyed theatre sherlock holmes

[sasha-whos-askin-racket]

This is why Luke and Joe are my favourite Holmes/Watson pairing because LOOK at how in love with him Watson looks. Look at that smile and the fondness in his eyes I’m going insane.

They are the Holmes/Watson ever.

[geeoharee]

Theatre again tonight! Nearly thwarted by the 41 bus, should have known better, that is a terrible route.

Saw a version of Valley Of Fear in a tiny tiny theatre in my old home town. The room's more like a school hall than anything and I went through my usual half-an-act of not being able to look directly at the actors' faces because I was sat too close. But that has nothing to do with whether it was good or not.

It was, I think! At first I thought Watson was being mis-used - he had the most painful-looking limp I've ever seen on a Watson and was doing mainly comic relief stuff, so I was worried they weren't going to fully use him. But then they got into the case (executed by interleaving scenes of the American flashback with scenes of the investigation at Birlstone Manor - everyone playing several characters and moving around the chairs and suitcases that they had for props) and yeah that was just my usual 'Oh No Is Watson Being Wrong Done By' nerves, he was fine.

-- Oh, I just remembered the thing they got horribly wrong here! I don't want it to sound like I was just being horrible about his leg. Yeah, it's the scene where Holmes and Watson and the cop are all in a carriage going to the Manor and Watson has got a bag of sweets from somewhere and is eating them, then Holmes starts maliciously describing the effects of blowing someone's head off with a shotgun and Watson puts his sweet back in the bag. Watson was a med student and then he was a soldier. I would be amazed if it's possible to gross him out at ALL, and a bit of blood and brains certainly isn't going to do it. Anyway, back to the review --

Actually they made some really interesting points about VALL being 'the other Moriarty case'. They stated it was 1895 but also it was 'three years since Watson got married' (What are dates! We just don't know) which allowed for some sneaky "Several times in the last three years, I thought about telling you..." that Moriarty existed. Watson is somewhat put out that Holmes has been fighting a criminal mastermind who explicitly threatened John and Mary and has not, like, mentioned it. Watson threatens to quit, actually. Which means Holmes says '...well if it's our final adventure', with stifled laughter from some quadrants of the audience. And then you get a wonderfully tense 'you can get the train back to London if you want' moment except he even says 'back to Mary'. I like this writer, I really do.

Oh yeah the threat. This was a new bit (Moriarty doesn't have lines in VALL. Okay, he has one.) which I felt was SUPER effective. Holmes says, actually, I did meet this mysterious reclusive murderer once.

Watson: Where was I?! Holmes: [pointed] On your honeymoon.

And then we get the flashback, which is Holmes at an art exhibition (Watson scoffs at this! someone did their reading!), when he's joined in front of a painting (both of them staring out into the audience - Holmes does a lot of that when he's thinking, too, which I really liked) by a softly spoken gentleman with an Irish accent. They make idle conversation for a bit about the painter, who was unhappy. Drank too much. Lived on a clifftop and liked to paint the sea. Like this painting of the sea, which is beautiful, isn't it? The critics thought it was a mistake. The light's coming from two angles. The sun's over there. But he only painted what he saw, the bright stars in the sea, the reflected sparkles of the other light.

"It was his house burning down. And his best friend was killed, and his best friend's wife, too. If only he had looked the other way."

I would NEVER encourage people to give Moriarty more lines, god knows he takes up enough space in the public image of Sherlock Holmes, he turns up in stories he isn't bloody in, but I thought that was marvellous given that it's not really clear why he's in VALL in the first place and if he HAS to be, he might as well be goddamn scary.

Anyway, everyone knows the rest. "I am Birdy Edwards!" was done very well, I thought. The actor who plays Holmes had to be Baldwin because if you make him Edwards it poses logistical problems. And it really got me thinking, I almost want to re-read VALL and see if the parallels they drew are actually there, because Douglas's "death" - Holmes taking one look at his wife and realising she isn't grieving - I mean, that's suggestive. That might give a certain kind of mind an idea about the pre-requisites for successfully faking one's death.

(For god's sake, they have Holmes complaining that Watson snores, and set up a thing about him dozing off on stake-outs to get away with it. I really, really like this writer. And the actor playing Holmes flitted and spun and flung himself on the floor with the best of them. I really want that frock-coat he had on.)

[centrestagereviews]

Interview: Bobby Bradley - Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear

Following UK-wide success in 2023, Blackeyed Theatre is reviving its acclaimed Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear in Spring 2024, including a three-week London premiere at Southwark Playhouse Borough. Adapted by Nick Lane from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel, The Valley of Fear is crammed full of adventure, mystery and one or two rather brilliant deductions. This…

[geeoharee]

This sounds like the same version I saw recently - Blackeyed Theatre with Luke Barton, right? (He does look a bit like Matt Smith...) I thought the extra Moriarty material was brilliant, it's easy to overdo Moriarty but I really liked their approach. Especially the tension over Watson's marriage and Holmes's secrecy about the Moriarty case.

I went by myself, but when I came out of the theatre, I could hear so many families discussing what they knew about the original stories and Sherlock Holmes. Gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

HELLO I'VE JUST RETURNED FROM SEEING SHERLOCK HOLmes and the Valley of Fear at the theatre. I'm exhausted and my neck hurts bc Tall Person sat in front of me but it was GREAT i LOVED IT it had holmes and Watson comaraderie and it did some fun things with Moriarty's influence in TVoF and Mrs Hudson got some great banter. Absolutely NAILED the complicated aspects of Holmes and Watson's relationship too. Also i went into absolute category ten autism moment on the way home telling dad so much holmes trivia. Coronation? What coronation? Today will always be Valley of Fear day from now until the end of time. also the actor for sherlock holmes looked like matt smith which amused me deeply. I'm going to lie here and think about this all night.

[iammrt1]

“Sherlock Holmes - The Sign of Four” by Blackeyed Theatre at The Broadway, Barking. In one word just “O U T S T A N D I N G”. 😊 🎭 🕵🏻‍♂️ 🔫 🔪 🎉 #sherlock #sherlockholmes #blackeyedtheatre #thebroadway #barkingbroadway #englishtheatre #detective #lovetheatre #london (at Broadway Barking) https://www.instagram.com/iammotiurtaj/p/Bya9MXUg2BN/?igshid=16aea0v5s5m34

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My favourite thing about the Blackeyed Theatre Sherlock Holmes universe is that Watson is the clueless one. I know we typically say that Sherlock is the one who is emotionally unaware/stunted but not this time. Nope. This time, it's all John.

Like. Mary immediately cottoned on. She acknowledges shortly after their marriage that marrying Watson is like marrying Holmes as well because they come as a set. And she understands that. She even tells Watson that Sherlock needs him, just as much as he needs Sherlock. She just comes out and says it. She's realised it. She can tell. And more than that, she knows that John hasn't realised it.

And then, THREE YEARS LATER, Holmes, after having an argument with him about Moriarty and about trying to protect him and what have you, finally gets his head out of his ass and confesses. Straight up says he doesn’t exist without Watson.

And Watson still just. Does not comprehend.

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Something about Valley of Fear using Parting Friends as a song in their show and my dad dying the month before I go and see it and then Luke remembering my dad from four years prior and bringing him up in conversation without knowing he was dead or without me having to say anything about him first has gotten me low-key fucked up.

[47gaslamps]

The only one I've seen is The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes, and... probably it was the best VALL adaptation until the Blackeyed Theatre Company came along and knocked it out of the park, but I have to tell you, that is not saying a lot.

My aunt sent me this and I can't wait to watch them all!! 😍😍

[centrestagereviews]

Interview: Luke Barton - Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear

Interview: Luke Barton - Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear @blackeyedtheatr

Blackeyed Theatre’s electric Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear is bringing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic novel to stages across the UK this autumn. This gripping world premiere is full of mystery and adventure and combines original music, stylish theatricality and magical story-telling for an unforgettable experience. Adapted by Nick Lane, with original music composed by Tristan…