With an almost three-hour running time, Blackeyed Theatre, one of the UK’s leading touring companies, ensures there is enough theatrical flair to keep the audience engaged.
Set designer Victoria Spearing’s vision enables the audience to move seamlessly between locations, from a fire-damaged 221B Baker Street to the Diogenes Club, a seedy theatre with secret doors, and the Reichenbach Falls. Sound and lighting add further atmosphere, while projections on the back wall provide a visual accompaniment to the onstage action.
With such an exciting script to work with, this is very much an actor’s piece. Dr Watson’s role in recounting events after the fact gives the production its narrative backbone. Performances across the ensemble are consistently strong, with actors multi-roling while maintaining clarity despite the plot’s complexity. Mark Knightley plays Holmes, with Ben Owora as Dr Watson. They are ably supported by Pippa Caddick (Mrs Hudson, Irene Adler, Violet Westbury, and Hilda Trelawney-Hope), Gavin Molloy (Inspector Lestrade, Louis LaRotière, Professor Moriarty, Alex Trelawney-Hope, and Herbert Fennell), Robbie Capaldi (Sir James de Wilde, Hugo Oberstein, Ronald Smith, and Don Chappell), and Elliot Giuralarocca (Mycroft Holmes, Colonel Valentine Walter, Wilhelm von Ornstein, Henry Petty Fitzmaurice, and Will Parfitt).
Knightley’s Holmes is portrayed with a cooler, more measured intelligence than the slightly eccentric interpretations some may expect, giving the character a distinct gravitas.
Moriarty, as in Conan Doyle’s stories, remains largely in the shadows until the final confrontation.
The character transformations are extremely well handled, with subtle costume changes and distinct accents making it easy to follow who’s who. When it hits its stride, the play moves from intriguing to gripping. The sword fight between Irene Adler and de Wilde is visceral, while the climactic confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls is impressively staged, combining physical theatre, music, and projection to great effect.
As a committed Holmes fan, there is something undeniably satisfying in seeing familiar stories reframed as a single grand conspiracy, with Moriarty elevated from an occasional adversary to the hidden hand behind the goings-on.
This is an engaging, intelligent piece of theatre that respects its source material, with much to enjoy in spotting the threads of familiar stories woven into a new tapestry. Even with its long running time, the show impresses with originality, cleverness, and humour. Fans of the great detective will not want to miss it.
Sherlock Holmes and the Hunt For Moriarty is on tour and details can be found here, Sherlock Holmes and the Hunt for Moriarty – Blackeyed Theatre https://blackeyedtheatre.co.uk/shows-2/shows/sherlock-holmes-and-the-hunt-for-moriarty/
Reviewer – Adrian Cork
On – 14.04.2026
