Following much pressure from the public, after killing off his most famous character, Arthur Conan Doyle brings back Sherlock Holmes from the dead. As it turns out, he didn’t fall off the Reichenbach Falls with Moriarty at all, he did some Japanese wrestling on him, climbed the mountain again, then disappeared for a few years to do some mountaineering. Of course!
Despite what I’ve always thought is the silliest beginning to a Conan Doyle story, The Return of Sherlock Holmes is a smart, elegant adaptation of The Adventure of the Empty House. The play is a very faithful adaptation of the short story, with the few changes made to accommodate the restrictions of a two-man play.
The piece is very dialogue heavy, with most of the action happening offstage, however the fireworks of the ornate dialogue true to Conan Doyle’s style helps to hold the interest of the audience.
The real joy of The Return of Sherlock Holmes is the two performances. Michael Roy Andrew embodies the prim Victorian gentleman of Watson impeccably, whilst Nigel Miles-Thomas effortlessly embodies the imposing and eccentric figure of Holmes.
There is plenty of back-and-forth between the two, and during these exchanges you really buy that there is a long history between these two men. The fact that Andrew and Miles-Thomas have had an acting partnership stretching back decades I’m sure doesn’t hurt this.
Whilst many adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, both screen and stage, have some kind of twist or unique interpretation of the characters, it is nice to see such a loyal, authentic adaptation directly from the pages of Conan Doyle. Though Conan Doyle was of course reluctant to bring Sherlock Holmes back, productions likeThe Return of Sherlock Holmes make one all the more relieved that he did.
