THEATRE REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes & The Warlock of Whitechapel

THEATRE REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes & The Warlock of Whitechapel 

(Zinc Arts Theatre, Chipping Ongar)

Common Ground Theatre Company tours plays around the East Anglia area, and their Christmas offering was 'Sherlock Holmes & The Warlock of Whitechapel' (a sequel to their successful ’Sherlock Holmes & The Hooded Lance’ of the previous Christmas). This comic play was written by its Holmes, Julian Harries, along with the director, Pat Whymark, and was perfect farcical Christmas (or New Year) entertainment. Having missed the previous year’s play due to locations, I was pleased when a final charity performance was announced in the easily reachable Chipping Ongar (twenty minutes on the bus from Zone 6 Underground station, Epping).

Ancient artefacts are disappearing from museums and private collections all over Europe,. A pre-Christian effigy one day, a shamanic totem the next, a pagan fetish at the weekend. Either someone's on their own personal antiques road trip, or they're trying to summon dark forces. and gain mystical powers. But to what end…and why ? It is up to Holmes and Watson (Dick Mainwaring) to investigate.

A sold-out afternoon matinee audience was roaring with laughter from start to finish, as the cast of five played over twenty parts behind them. Harries and Mainwaring were the perfect team having worked together in a large number of previous Common Ground productions, and were ably assisted by regular company members, Emily Bennett and Joe Leat, with newcomer Roger Parkins (whose ‘mad maids’ almost stole the show) rounding out the cast. The show was fully of witty dialogue, physical comedy and even very catchy comic songs. I find myself still laughing at some of the jokes a few days later. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for if there is a third play, even if I have to travel to East Anglia to see it.

Rating:    (4/5)

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Magic Goes Wrong’ (Vaudeville Theatre)

Introduction

As a gigantic fan of the Mischief Theatre Company, the co-writers Penn & Teller, magic advisor Ben Hart, and Magic in general, this was always going to be a must-see for me. Having previously seen ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ in the West End (before JJ Abrams made it cool to do so), ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ on tour, their two TV specials, and their television series, ‘The Goes Wrong Show’ (I’m kicking myself for missing ‘The Nativity Goes Wrong’ in 2013), I was aware of what to expect. The last two stage productions that I had seen them in, ‘The Comedy About a Bank Robbery’ and ‘Groan Ups’ (the play that proceeded MGW in the company’s residence at London’s Vaudeville Theatre), had not been ‘Go Wrong’ shows and I was looking forward to them returning to what has made them known. 

 

Plot

 

In this show, the original Mischief company (but without usual member, Charlie Russell) play a hapless gang of magicians – old school magician with daddy issues, Sophisticato; street magician/danger fiend, The Blade; inept mentalist, Mind Mangler; and German female duo, Bär & Spitzmäus - presenting a charity event for those injured in the line of magic. As the accidents spiral out of control, so does their fundraising target !

Review

Whilst the audience were taking their seats, ‘members of the crew’ (played by the Understudy group) wandered among the seats with nets in an attempt to gather up ‘escaped rabbits and doves’. The show proper then started. Without wanting to give anything away, as per any ‘GW’ show, trick after trick goes wrong in one way or another, but there is still more than enough actual magic going on. A few tricks ended quite grisly, and I needed to look away from the trick just before the interval, when it became all too clear what was about to happen. Also as per usual, several cast members ended up in just their underwear. There was also excellent use of illuminated letters across the stage which changed during some acts to spell out messages which became more insulting as the evening progressed.

The cast were all fantastic with co-writer, Henry Shields as Sophisticato, the compere of the evening. His recreation of his late father’s dove act was one of the highlights of the evening. Two of the other writers, Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer, appeared as the Mind Mangler and his even more inept stooge, Mickey, with their initial performance being another highlight as the Mind Mangler struggled to get anything other than very basic predictions right. After having a very limited role in ‘Groan Ups’, I was also pleased to see MTC regular Dave Hearn getting a larger role as The Blade, a Criss Angel-type magician, whose thirst for danger can only spell disaster in a GW show. I was also very impressed by his demonstrated breath-holding skills seen whilst he was in a water torture cell, performing a classic ‘Penn & Teller’ routine. The magicians were rounded out by Nancy Zamit and Bryony Corrigan as Bär & Spitzmäus, with the latter displaying excellent contortionist skills. Roxy Faridany completed the cast in the vital, albeit brief, role of Eugenia, Sophisticato’s late father’s assistant and magical philanthropist. There were also a couple of video appearances from magical superstars (the programme indicating that their fees had been donated to charity).

Highly recommended, and the programme indicated that sales have been such that the engagement has been extended, meaning that a proposed third production during the residency has been postponed.

 

Rating: 

‘Magic Goes Wrong’ runs at London’s Vaudeville Theatre until 31^st May 2020.

Link: Official Website

My 2019 Awards - Part Three: Doctor Who

[No TV episodes in 2019  ('Resolution' was part of last year's awards), so on the day of the first episode of Series 12, other DW-related awards]

Big Finish Boxsets:

5) 'The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller'

4) 'The Lives of Captain Jack - Volume 2'

3) 'The Paternoster Gang: Heritage 1'
2) 'The Tenth Doctor Adventures - Volume 3'

1) 'The Legacy of Time'

(Honourable Mention: 'The Eighth of March')

Big Finish Monthly Range:

5) 'Memories of a Tyrant'
4) 'Blood on Santa's Claw and Other Stories'
3) 'The Kamelion Empire'

2) 'An Alien Werewolf in London'

1) 'Emissary of the Daleks'

Blu-Rays / DVDs:

5) 'Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 18'

4) 'Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 19'
3) 'The Doctors: The Colin Baker Years'

2) 'Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 23'

1) 'Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor'

Other Merchandise:

5) 'Max Warp' Vinyl
4) 'Ground Zero' Graphic Novel

3) 'The Target Storybook'

2) 'The Unofficial Dr Who Annual 1987'
1) B&M Figure Sets

 

Events:

5) 'Christopher Eccleston - I Love The Bones of You' - National Theatre  (September)
4) 'London Film and Comic Con - Spring' - Olympia   (February)

3) 'Vworp 2' - Manchester Metropolitan University  (September)

2) 'Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor - London Preview Screening' - Rudolf Steiner House Theatre (November)
1) 'An Afternoon in Devil's End' - Aldbourne Memorial Hall    (June)