Sherlock Holmes and The Seven Wooden Figurines

I was warmly welcomed on arrival at this intimate theatre. This humorous murder/mystery, written in Suffolk in 2017, invited audience participation in trying to solve the mystery of a murder, a classic who-dun-it! The audience were all dubbed constables and were asked to hand in questions to the likely suspects during the interval which would then be used in the subsequent interrogations in Act Two.

Sherlock Holmes, played by Rob Sadler, was the customary well known detective with the pipe and Dr Watson, played by Jonathan Abbott was the classic foil to Holmes. Both these parts were played extremely well and were the focus of the plot.

Sir Cuthbert Worthington-Jones, played by Paul Mann is celebrating inheriting The Manor, supposedly under the curse of Semer Moors. He received seven wooden figurines, one for each of the prior seven weeks but mysteriously the head of one has been severed from the body. Sir Cuthbert fears that this bodes evil and sends for Holmes to investigate.

Amanda Rowe plays Lady Veronica, Sir Cuthbert’s wife, who is anxious and overly protective of her son, Clive. Clive, played by Brandon Hill, is a somewhat ineffective character but does he have a secret ? All these three parts were played with great skill and obvious enjoyment by the cast.

Paul Reed, as Wooster the butler, was amazing in the role. I will never know how he managed to sustain both his Scottish accent and especially his limp, foot dragging walk for the whole of the production, to great hilarity from the audience. Well done !

Nigel Rowe had a niche role as Peter Reichenbach, a visitor from Switzerland and was great in this role. There was much humour in his rapid changes of moustaches, with a bright orange one as the final adornment. As an old friend of Sir Cuthbert he added mystery and misunderstandings to the plot.

Ella Peartree, as Emily the maid, was pert and cheeky, hitting just the right tone and manner whilst Chris Sadd, as Estelle Doyle, the Cook was pragmatic and rather flirty. Witgar Coles, the gardener, played by Nigel Morton, was a real countryman, with a secret !

Before the celebrations could start, Sir Cuthbert was found dead in his study and Holmes and Watson sprang into action to find the murderer.

Into this chaos entered the wealthy neighbours, Sir Montgomery Thorn, played by Chris Ellis and his daughter, Lady Arabella, played by Bethany Jones. Lady Arabella was the mistress of Sir Cuthbert and there were many poignant and fiery moments between these two.

Finally, Inspector Lestrade entered to solve the mystery of the murder. Alan Wheeler was magnificent in this role, rather arrogant and certainly pompous and, of course, he came to the wrong conclusion about the murder. The set was excellent and alternated between 221B, Baker Street and The Manor, home of the Worthington-Jones. It was designed and constructed by Andy Terry, Derek Butcher and Nigel Rowe and Stage Manager, Derek Butcher moved sets and props (Jude Hussey) efficiently and with minimum delay. Costumes, hair and makeup ( Yvonne Cobbold, Karen Baker, Jacquie Terry and Lea Friend) were all true to the period of the play. Lighting and special effects (Bruce Emery and Tom Cross) were excellent, especially each time the curse was mentioned .Sound levels were good with incidental snatches of music whilst set changes were underway. I picked up strains of Downton Abbey at one point.

This was a really humorous and fun evening which I am sure the audience embraced enthusiastically. I certainly did !

Congratulations to Director, Lea Friend, for this fantastic production, one of the best ! Well done to everyone involved in any way with it.

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