THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ (Apollo Theatre)

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’  (Apollo Theatre) 

 

 

 

 

 

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, I was keen to complete the Mischief Theatre Company ‘Goes Wrong’ trilogy. Therefore, as soon as this was announced, I booked a ticket.

This possible final outing for the Cornley Dramatic Society (no longer Polytechnic students) finds them reconvening to put on Dickens’ Christmas masterpiece, with original Mischief Theatre members returning to the parts of Robert (Henry Lewis), Dennis (Jonathan Sayer), Annie (Nancy Zamit), Jonathan (Greg Tannahill) and Trevor (Chris Leask), ably assisted by ‘TPTGW’ West End alumni. ‘A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ was their second TV special, and although a proportion of that remains (eg. Robert attempting to incapacitate Chris, and Dennis reading his lines off scenery and props) there was a large amount of new stuff.

It also started with the rehearsal period, with a production meeting being a definite highlight. There was also good continuity with Jonathan still understandably having a fear of any heights, given his experiences as ‘Peter Pan’. As with many Mischief shows part of the fun was seeing later jokes/set-pieces being blatantly set up promoting a sense of anticipation, whether this being Dennis being given two bags that he’s told not to mix up with one containing fake snow and one containing coins, or the longer-term implications of a temporary patch-up to the model sent to the scenery-producers. Jokes built on jokes, and even the play really going wrong (leading to an 11 minute break while they fixed the electrics) couldn’t lower the level of hysterical laughter in the auditorium.

It all led up to a wonderful heartwarming ending which may be where we leave Cornley as a lot of loose ends were tied up, and I left the theatre with my face hurting from laughing. I then managed to meet the cast at the stage door, including Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer who I had not met when I saw ‘The Comedy About Spies’ earlier in the year. Beg, borrow or steal a ticket to ‘a perfect festive evening’.

 

‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ runs at London’s Apollo Theatre until 26^th January 2026, then tours to Nottingham, Aylesbury, Edinburgh, Glasgow &  Canterbury. (Click here for dates)

 

Links:  Official Website

 

Sherlockian Sojourns # 81: As Seen on Screen – ‘A Rambling Old Place’

The announcement of a new comedic festive ‘Sherlock Holmes’ play in Birmingham (with new songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber) meant that a trip had been booked for almost half-a-year. However, intending to get my money’s worth from the expensive train fares, a couple of detours were planned.

Making my way from London Euston, an hour-and-fifteen minutes later I was at Birmingham New Street Station. From here it was a short walk to Birmingham Moor Street Station, where I caught a train to Lapworth from where it was a forty minute walk to my first point of call, Baddesley Clinton, a moated manor house owned by the National Trust. This was the home of the Ferrers family for 500 years, with much of the house being built by Henry Ferrers, a lawyer, diarist and antiquarian, in the late 1500s. The house was a sanctuary not only for the Ferrers family, but also for persecuted Catholics who were hidden from priest hunters in its secret hiding places during the 1590s.

The reason for my visit was that the house was also the filming location for both the interiors and exteriors of Hurlstone, the home of Reginald Musgrave (Michael Culver) in Granada’s 1986 dramatisation of ‘The Musgrave Ritual’. The estate was very busy due to hosting a ‘Walking With The Snowman’ trail, but I managed to get a timed ticket for entry to the house.

Having taken photos of the house from all sides, I made my way to the nearby lawn which was the location of the 64ft Elm that was struck by lightning, then to the area where the ‘patriarch among Oaks’ was located, then finally to the Great Pool which features prominently in the search for Rachel Howells (Johanna Kirby).

      

 

I then went round the Snowman trail, which coincidentally was ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ themed (my evening’s entertainment also being so themed), starting with ‘Two Turtles Doves’ and working my way back round to ‘A Partridge In A Pear Tree’. 

 

     

 

Having browsed their large secondhand bookshop, it was time for my entry to the house, which was dressed for Christmas.The first room of interest was the kitchen where Brunton (James Hazeldine) attempts to solve ‘the ritual’, and where there is also a priest’s hole behind glass. Moving on, I made my way into the Great Hall that also features prominently in the episode, along with the upstairs bedrooms. Due to the Christmas lights, the house was in partial darkness and no flash photography was allowed, but I did my best.

  

    

Exiting the house, I made my way back to Lapworth Station, and caught a train back to Solihull, where a half-hour bus journey took me to Hall Green Station. Having picked up and eaten some lunch, I made my way to the nearby Number 41 Southam Road. The comedian Tony Hancock was born here on 12th May 1924, but, from the age of three, he was brought up in Bournemouth (then in Hampshire), where his father, John Hancock, had moved to in an effort to improve his health, and where he subsequently ran the Railway Hotel in Holdenhurst Road. Having visited the sculpture of Hancock in the centre of Birmingham on a previous sojourn, I wanted to complete the set. There is now a plaque on Hancock’s birthplace, which I took photos of, along with the building itself which seemed to be unoccupied and falling into ruin.

   

Returning to the bus stop, I caught the next bus and around 45 minutes later was back at Birmingham Moor Street Station. Having wasted a little time looking in shops, I made my way towards Birmingham Repertory Theatre, my progress slightly hampered by a Christmas Market meaning that the main route was rammed with people, and that I had to eat my evening meal as I walked.

However, I was still there in plenty of time for the performance, and having purchased a programme and a set of SH Button Badges, I wandered over to a selfie-area, where having taken photos of a family, they were happy to return the favour.

 

Taking my seat in the middle of the second row of the Stalls, I settled in for what proved to be the perfect Sherlockian Christmas Treat, ‘Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas’ (knocking ‘A Sherlock Carol’ into a cocked-hat…or should that be cocked-Deerstalker). The script by Humphrey Ker and David Reed was amazing (as were their performances), and there were no less than six new Rice/Lloyd-Webber songs, including two wonderful Sherlockian ones. [Click here for a fuller review].

The show having finished, there was no time to stage-door, as the last train back to London was going in just over twenty minutes. On my arrival at New Street Station, my train didn’t seem to be listed, and station staff were giving conflicting information. I therefore decided to take one of the staff member’s advice and get the one London train that was listed even if my ticket allegedly wasn’t valid on it. This also proved less than straightforward, as the train was repeatedly delayed and swapped platforms twice. However, finally I crammed myself on to the train when it eventually arrived, having to stand until Coventry (around 35 minutes) crammed into a corridor just by the toilet. Some seats having become vacant, I managed to sit down, concerned that I might end up being fined for being on the wrong train. However, luckily the rail company had sensibly decided against checking tickets (with the train so full that almost no-one sitting in First Class had the right ticket, and most aisles being blocked with passengers).

Back in London, a few minutes earlier than expected, the Night Tube and a bus got me home by 1.30am. It had been a very long, but enjoyable day.

THEATRE REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas

 

THEATRE REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas

Written by Humphrey Ker & David Reed, with songs by Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd-Webber.
Directed by Phillip Breen.  

This was a show that I had been looking forward to since it had been announced over a year before, with two-thirds of ‘The Penny Dreadfuls’ Humphrey Ker & David Reed presenting a comic take on Holmes and Watson investigating a serial killer who is killing in line with ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’, with new songs written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd-Webber (collaborating for the first time in 13 years). Aware how popular it was likely to be I booked almost as soon as tickets were released.

I also made sure that I was sitting in my seat in the second row of the Stalls at Birmingham Repertory Theatre (the Rep) in plenty of time for the start. Glancing through the programme, I noted that there were a total of six new Rice/Lloyd Webber songs (and ‘Variation 23’ previously danced to by Wayne Sleep).

The lights went down, and ‘the magic’ certainly happened, as I was transfixed from the opening number to the denouement of Act 1 where all seemed lost. I found myself laughing uproariously and even a little anxious in the one slightly scary scene. I couldn't wait for the interval to be over and for the story to restart. It all came to a wonderful end, and I left the theatre still smiling from ear-to-ear.

Ker and Reed appeared as Holmes and Watson respectively, with both amazing (as was their script), particularly Reed in his big song of Act 2, and neither taking their performance into the realms of caricature. You could really believe them as friends (as they are in real life). They were ably supported by the wonderful Margaret Cabourn-Smith (already a favourite of mine) as Mrs Hudson (and a few other parts) and comedian John Kearns as Inspector Lestrade. I would also wish to praise Helena Wilson as female Detective rival Athena Faversham and Susan Harrison as Ernie, polio-ridden Baker Street Irregular and newspaper boy.

The new songs were also wonderful, with the two very Sherlockian ‘The Game’s Afoot’ and ‘Houses Are Not Holmes’ being my favourites, and Reed’s Watson breaking my heart in the latter. I was looking everywhere on my way out for a CD of the songs (which there wasn’t one) or a QR Code in the programme to download them. (Again, no luck)

The run had already been extended further into the New Year (18^th January 2026), and I must admit that if it had been running in London, I would have immediately booked another ticket. (Maybe it will next year).

Very highly recommended !

 

Dramatic Score: 10/10

Rating:   (6/5)

 

Links: Production Website

           'The Penny Dreadfuls'

THEATRE REVIEW: Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B

THEATRE REVIEW: Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B

Written by Kate Hamill,
Directed by Sean Turner.  

 

The writer of this play, actor-playwright Kate Hamill, was one of the most-produced playwrights in America from 2017-2023, and tied for the honour of the most-produced playwright in America for 2024/25. From the adverts that have been popping up on my Facebook page, a large proportion of this has been professional and amateur US productions of this comedic play which describes itself as ‘reimagining Holmes and Watson as a fiercely funny, gloriously dysfunctional female duo navigating post-pandemic London with sharp wits and banter’. Having finally made its way over the Atlantic to the Arcola Theatre in Dalston, I booked a ticket. (Unfortunately, the performance that I had originally booked was cancelled due to cast sickness fifteen minutes before curtain up, so I had to return just under a week later).

Taking my seat in a half-full theatre, I was slightly concerned, having avoided all reviews, but following a rather contrived prologue (which in my view slightly took away the drama of Holmes’ first exit), I found myself thoroughly enjoying the first meeting between Sherlock and Joan (the latter’s ‘Doctor’ status being a point of discussion) in the Baker Street apartment. The first half was a reimagining of ‘A Study in Scarlet’ leading into ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’, with the arrival of Irene Adler (reinvented as a sex worker) to the apartment being the cue for the interval. The second half completed SCAN, before going its own way to a denouement, which was followed by a final scene that took us as the audience by surprise, having clapped at the blackout after the denouement.

Save a few times when Americanisms crept into a play allegedly set in London (even the title should probably be ‘- Flat 2B’), I enjoyed Hamill’s script. Lucy Farrett was wonderful as Holmes, with just the right amount of nervous energy and with strong support from Simona Brown as Watson. Alice Lucy was a vampish Irene (and a Scottish Mrs. Hudson) who sizzled in scenes with Farrett, and Tendai Humphrey Sitima made the best of some underwritten characters. The set was also very impressive, mainly as the apartment, but also as other locations, achieved by way of simple set dressing and lighting changes.

An enjoyable night out.

Dramatic Score: 9/10

Rating:  (4/5)