Sherlock Holmes and the Inane Investigation
ATB Westbury Theatre
3 ½ Stars
Set in foggy Victorian London, Sherlock Holmes and the Inane Investigation leads the audience through an unlikely and convoluted mystery filled with shady characters who are more than they claim to be.
Don’t expect to see the traditional characters. In this farcical adaptation, Sherlock (Jon Shields) scratches the violin rather than playing it. He shoots up opium and gets quite testy when he runs out. His sidekick, Dr. Watson (Edward Medeiros), instead is addicted to food as measured by his waistline and hits on everyone wearing a skirt.
Catherine, a beautiful young woman, arrives at their doorstep asking for the duo’s assistance in locating her missing brother. She fears he’s involved in the opium trade. Adjusting his deerstalker hat and pipe, Sherlock leads the way to the young man’s apartment.
There are sparse clues in the apartment; however, Sherlock notes the young man’s taste in books runs toward the occult and secret rituals. Instead of the Illuminati, Sherlock surmises the OPIATE, a secret organization dedicated to controlling the opium trade, has him in its grip.
As Sherlock and Watson follow ridiculous clues that morph into even more absurd deductions, the investigative duo solves the case using a cocktail of brilliance and lunacy.
Director Joel Mendenhall keeps the pace moving rapidly, giving the audience little time to dissect the evidence. There are no deep messages in this one-hour production – just a silly adventure laced with snappy one-liners.
– Anna Borowiecki
