Sherlock Holmes and the Poisonwood

A modern twist on a world famous detective falls flat.

★★☆☆☆ Feb 5 ’23

London, 2028. Part-time detective Sherlock Holmes is shredding away on his electric guitar when Dr Amanda Watson, interrupts him with a case – a poisoning at the infamous environmental protest camps in Oakenwood. A whip smart rock musical adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.

This modernised rock musical about the world’s most famous detective is the story of Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr Watson who investigate a case of poisoning, masterminded by the villain, Dr Moriarty. Unlike in the books the gender of Dr Watson and Dr Moriarty are flipped which helps with the modernisation of the show, however the characterisations are not great as they seem to fall flat and feel fake. The show is modernised, Dr Watson is now a vegan social media influencer, and Dr Moriarty’s most powerful tool of misdemeanour is a host of deepfakes, which was confusing. The show just does not feel real and meant that the audience does not feel invested in the characters’ journey. The shows’ songs are a bit boring, and don’t really progress the plot, it feels like there was a bit of talking and then, ‘Oh it’s time for a song’. I found the dialogue confusing and hard to follow with the narrator having to add lots in to paint the scene, there was just too much going on. Regretfully, I don’t think this musical is good enough to have a life elsewhere and unfortunately the show just fell flat for me.