THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Sherlock Holmes vs. Arsène Lupin: A Drag Crime Caper' (Brighton Open Air Theatre)

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Sherlock Holmes vs. Arsène Lupin: A Drag Crime Caper’

Written & Directed by Samuel Masters.

(Brighton Open Air Theatre, 16/05/2026) 

 

A few days after ‘Sherlock Holmes’ at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre, I found myself again in an Open Air Theatre, this time in Brighton, to watch a Sherlockian play presented by the Department of Ulterior Motives (DUM) as part of Brighton Fringe. DUM is a theatre company based in Brighton, specialising in ‘bold yet accessible reinterpretations of literature and folklore’, and the previous year had offered a comedic version of GK Chesterton’s metaphysical thriller ‘The Man Who Was Thursday’. This year’s offering was a comic adaptation of the ‘Arsène Lupin vs Sherlock Holmes/Herlock Sholmes’ novels of Maurice LeBlanc (recently updated for Netflix), but as the title indicates performed in drag, ie. with all the male characters played by females and (almost) all the female characters played by males.

I therefore caught a train from East Croydon to Preston Park, where it was a twenty-minute walk to Dyke Road Park and the theatre, Watching a matinee, I had learnt nothing from a few days before, and the early sunshine having evaporated by the time of the performance, I was grateful when during the interval, theatre staff came round handing out blankets.

The play itself was absolutely hilarious with Chully Mullock’s ridiculously camp Lupin being a highlight, along with Esther Dracott’s Watson. Maria Evans’ Holmes was appropriately pompous, Alex Scarrott’s Mrs. Hudson very pantomime dame, Michael Grant’s Irene Adler appropriately arch, and Phaedra Danelli’s Josephine very funny, with excellent support from Emma Howarth, Alex Louise and Tiggie Ellison. There were several lip-synchs, a couple of ‘Drag Race’ references, masses of physical comedy, and it even ended with a 1990s power ballad. After the two outdoor performances that day, it was having a short run at the Ironworks Studios. Definitely recommended if restaged.

 

Dramatic Score: 10/10    (I’m not taking a point off for an Irene Adler with a beard)

 

Rating:  (5/5)     

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Sherlock Holmes' (Regents Park Open Air Theatre)

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Sherlock Holmes’

Written by Joel Horwood, Directed by Sean Holmes.

(Regents Park Open Air Theatre) 

 

‘One day in early spring Holmes had so far relaxed as to go for a walk with me in [Regents] Park, where the first faint shoots of green were breaking out upon the elms, and the sticky spear-heads of the chestnuts were just beginning to burst into their five-fold leaves’.  [YELL]

 

Being performed less than a ten minute walk away from Baker Street and the Sherlock Holmes Museum, at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre, this play was described in the pre-publicity as a ‘new adventure’ by Joel Horwood who wrote the critically acclaimed stage adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane’, this was only partially true. Act One was the second adaptation of ‘The Sign of Four’ that I had seen in the space of a month (albeit with some elements of one of my favourite short stories, ‘The Bruce-Partington Plans’, and more than a little anti-British Empire/ colonial social commentary). Act Two took the story off in a new direction (concluding ‘TBPP’) leading up to both a Reichenbach moment and a grand revelation that was written with the smugness of a writer who has never seen ‘The Crucifer of Blood’ another SIGN stage adaptation and thinks that they have come up with a unique ending. (That said, this production does take it one stage further, with another revelatory twist that half the audience seemed to be muttering along with the actors). A running joke about animals having been released from the Regents Park zoo (leading to a Lion riding a bike in the background at one point) was also stretched to capacity.

However, the main performances were very good with Joshua James’ Holmes (introduced in a RDJ-style boxing scene) walking the line between being maddening and impressively intelligent, and Jyuddah Jaymes’ black Watson and Nadi Kemp-Sayfi’s mixed-race Mary adding to the anti-Empire sentiment. Marcia Lecky’s Mrs. Hudson was under-used, and Mervin Noronha’s Tonga (no longer either a Pygmy or a savage) was an excellent dancer and second-half antagonist. The ensemble were also excellent, particularly in the opening Agra Fort scene and in a circus scene.

It was possibly a little long, particularly on what turned out to be a very cold May night, but I enjoyed the performance, and purchased both a poster and a postcard as well as a programme.

‘Sherlock Holmes’ runs at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre until 6^th June 2026.

  

Dramatic Score: 7½/10

Rating:  (4/5)