That’s A Bit of Sheer Luck! – A Sherlock Holmes Parody proves an amiable comic treat at the Old Red Lion
“Toodleloo and tara”
With characters called Sheerluck, Irene Paddler, and Constable Lestride, you can see the level that That’s A Bit of Sheer Luck! – A Sherlock Holmes Parody is operating on. Written by Emily & Beth Rennie and directed by Phoebe White, it fully embraces the world of silliness with an affectionate take on 221B Baker Street-esque shenanigans and an impressive gag rate that means the pace rarely drops.
It might take a second to register quite what is happening, but Sherlock Holmes does also appear in this universe too. Sheerluck (Rennie, B) has overtaken Sherlock (a dashing Lawrence Harp) as the world’s greatest detective but even he is struggling to crack the latest heinous case, the dognapping of three pups belonging to his brother Mycruft. Can Toodle, Lou and Tara be saved in times for the Canine Union of National Talent dog show (don’t spell the acronym out loud…)?!
The humour is frequently madcap, making good use of physical comedy. Matt Entwistle’s Lestride shouldn’t be as funny every time he, well, strides but he is hilarious every time and quite how his trousers survive those splits I’ll never know. The design is also inspired, an Aladdin’s cave of found objects all somehow working their way into the show (the lightbulb! the skulls! Chekhov’s water-pistol…!) and the Old Red Lion’s stage doors being used to perfection.
Altogether, That’s A Bit of Sheer Luck! is energetic and undoubtedly entertaining, that fast pace meaning elements that might not necessarily work as well (for me, Moriarrrty) never linger too long in a scene. The Rennies skilfully include all sorts of contemporary references into their script, as well as paying irreverent tribute to Conan Doyle, a strong piece of Fringe humour successfully imported south of the border.
