Sherlock Holmes The Last Act

 Spoilers ahoy!

Having been a Sherlockian since around 1970, and having written my own Holmes murder mystery (watch this space for details), I eagerly planned to see Sherlock Holmes the Last Act.  Wasn't quite sure what to expect.

In truth this proved a solo show in which an aging Holmes has just returned from the funeral of Dr. John Watson, his one true friend.  Holmes (Nigel Miles-Thomas) at this point seems very much the powerful mind and piercing figure he has always been.  But not so, not really.  He finds himself diving, or perhaps falling into memories of his days as the Great Consulting Detective.  Again and again he recreates the moment he met Watson.  ("I perceive you have been to Afghanistan")  Eventually his memories take him further and deeper.  Into un-charted territory, or at least un-chronicled.  Things Watson never knew...

Writer David Stuart Davies does a very fine job of weaving the Holmes we know with what we don't know, but might have been.  Much of what he comes up with accounts for several patterns in the Great Detective's life, not least perhaps his need for stimulation, his distrust of women coupled with his strong desire to protect them, his craving for what he called "excitement" but comes across (in this work, anyway) as distraction, his willingness to let certain criminals simply go free.  

More, and this is praise for both actor and writer as well as director Gareth Armstrong, all this emerges in a way I don't think anyone needs much familiarity with the books and stories to appreciate the story.  Lacking the time that folks like Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeremy Brett, Basil Rathbone (to name a very, very few) had to work with the character, Miles-Thomas admirably bring Holmes to life.  More, I get nice glimpses of the other people in his life, including Watson (of course) and his father.

I do think the pacing feels a bit rushed, but then the Fringe only gave this show a 60 minute slot (in practice this means more like 55 minutes or less).  I feel it probably needs 65, maybe 70 full minutes to let everything sink in.  

Sherlock Homes The Last Act plays at the Broadwater Second Stage, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038 three more shows as of this writing:

• Wednesday June 21 2023, 8:00 PM
• Friday June 23 2023, 9:00 PM 
• Saturday June 24 2023, 7:00 PM

Vampire Nightclub 1983 (Fringe 2023)

Spoilers ahoy 

Seems like every single Fringe has at least one vampire play.  I never get to see all of them alas!  But this year I did get to see Vampire Nightclub 1983, a solo piece using the undead as a powerful metaphor.

Audrey Valcourt wrote and performed this relatively short (under 30 minute) piece, explaining from the year 1983 how she came to be a vampire in New York City.  It makes for some interesting lore and brings the metaphor front and center.  She was not made, but born a vampire.  Although she felt so very out of sync with her life, she had no idea of the sheer scale of it, until a little after puberty when she began to change.  Or, become her true self.  Her best friend didn't believe her, until seeing the fangs she ran away.

Our narrator spirals after that, running away, certain she is destined to be alone forever.  After many unsuccessful attempts at suicide (including driving a stake into her own heart) she ends up doing nothing, just existing.

Until...she meets others of her kind.  She falls in love.  She makes friends.  Every night she dances and listens to music, mingling with vampires and humans, finding many among the latter perfectly willing to be donors for one reason or another.

She is happy, until one of her friends gets sick.  Which rocks her to the core.  Vampires don't get sick.  What is this?

AIDS.  That is what 'this' is, and the devastation, the terror, the melancholy clutching at love even as one's lover fades--yeah the metaphor (or if you prefer analogy) seems pretty clear, especially during Pride Month.

Honestly, this solo piece works well overall, and I ended up caring about the character and her friends.  I do wish she had greater skill at moving and talking like different characters.  In fact, I find myself wanting to see the piece expanded into a full length work, with a larger cast and frankly even larger scale.  

The last show (for now) of Vampire Nightclub 1983 will be at the Broadwater Studio, 1078 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, CA 90038 on Saturday June 24 2023, 6:00 PM.