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Christmas Mysteries: A Sherlock Carol @MaryleboneTHLDN

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A mash-up of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes would seem an unlikely pairing. Yet it provides a surprisingly fun Christmas-themed adventure. These two Victorian tales (albeit separated by about 40 years) provide the basis for an inspired adventure at Christmastime that just also happens to turn out to be a murder mystery as well. With lavish costumes, a few spooky set pieces and some good old-fashioned stage trickery with lights and a lot of smoke machines, it is hard to resist. It returns to the Marylebone Theatre for Christmas after a run there last year.  The premise is that after Holmes sees off the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty, he is left adrift in London. People thought he was dead, and he might as well be. Disinterested in the misdeeds of other Londoners, Holmes has even given up on his friend Dr Watson. It's almost as if he has become a Scrooge. Or half a Scrooge, moping about shouting, "bah" in respon

Christmas Television

Christmas television is a major event in this country. This is because of the following. ..

Tonight there was the death of Pauline Fowler in Eastenders. Bless her. I think Wendy Richards best work was on "Are You Being Served", and her death wasn't the most glamorous of exits, face down in the snow. Eastenders is a fascinating show where everyone bitches about everyone else but an argument never gets heated enough for anyone to say dickhead, letalone motherfucker... And this show is supposed to be set in London??

The Dr Who episode Runaway Bride lived up to the hype and featured Catherine Tate in the lead role. The sets may still creak and the leading villain had a serious case of overacting but still it was fun...

The Vicar of Dibley is also concluding after twelve years, and it is going off with a wedding...

Little Britain Abroad suggests that the show has "jumped the shark". There is a storyline for the characters rather than repetition of the same punchlines, but foreign stereotypes seem to be replacing the British ones. Interestingly from the recent tour in the UK it was noted that the audience mostly consisted of Vicky Pollards and Lou & Andy's. Irony does work in mysterious ways I guess...

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Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

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