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SHOW REVIEWS

Review – Sherlock Holmes, The Hunt for Moriarty – Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne

today15/10/2025

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Blackeyed Theatre returns to the stage of Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre with an interesting new take on the world’s greatest detective. Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Moriarty, adapted and directed by Nick Lane, offers an atmospheric reimagining of Conan Doyle’s famous tales. The production, which stitches together several of Holmes’s adventures, is both ambitious and inventive — though at times it threatens to collapse under the weight of its own complexity. 

From the moment the lights go down, the audience are transported to the world of late-Victorian London. Victoria Spearing’s basic but flexible set design, with its period furniture, shadowy corners and ingenious use of projections, transforms seamlessly from the homely comfort of 221b Baker Street to the fog-laden streets of Whitechapel and finally to the perilous heights of the Reichenbach Falls. Tristan Parkes’s moody score and sound effects create a layer of cinematic richness, adding just the right dose of menace and mystery. 

Mark Knightley is a stereotypical Holmes: sharp witted, cynical, and occasionally aloof, yet capable of flashes of warmth. He captures the detective’s restless intellect with precision, giving the audience a man constantly at war with boredom and brilliance alike. Ben Owora’s Dr Watson, meanwhile, provides an ideal counterbalance — fiercely loyal, steady, and supportive. The pair share an easy chemistry that anchors the story amid its twists and turns. 

Around them, a small ensemble of actors (Gavin Molloy, Pippa Caddick, Robbie Capaldi and Eliot Giuralarocca) juggle multiple roles with admirable dexterity. Caddick’s Irene Adler is given greater prominence and adds emotional texture and intrigue, while her Mrs Hudson, more involved than usual, brings a little, very welcome, humour. As Professor Moriarty, Eliot Giuralarocca’s superb performance, though seen on stage fairly briefly, casts a shadow over every scene. Cold, calm and calculating, he has a mission to accomplish and has the determination to see it through. 

Nick Lane’s script draws from several of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories, among them The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans, The Second Stain, and The Final Problem, weaving them into a single grand narrative. The result is a production of epic length, full of political intrigue, espionage, and moral conflict, but this ambitious adaptation comes at a cost. With so many plots and characters interlacing, clarity occasionally suffers. There are moments when the audience must work hard to keep up, and the momentum occasionally dips dramatically between the bursts of action. 

Having said that, when it hits its stride, The Hunt for Moriarty is gripping. The climactic confrontation between Holmes and his nemesis at the Reichenbach Falls is impressively staged, combining physical theatre, music, and projection to haunting effect. It’s a testament to Blackeyed Theatre’s ingenuity that the effect is achieved successfully in such a modest touring production. 

Honouring the spirit of Conan Doyle’s creation, intelligent, adventurous, and unashamedly theatrical, Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Moriarty is not just another detective story brought to life — it’s a celebration of storytelling itself. It is seriously overlong, but still an engaging night at the theatre. 

***   Three Stars 

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Written by: Paul Scott

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