Review: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre

Words: Paul Crofts

No summer in Chester would be complete without a visit to the glorious Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre. 

On a balmy summer’s evening, We Are Chester’s Paul Crofts went along to see a brand new adaptation of a much-loved literary classic.

It was lovely to see Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre a-buzz once again this year as the audience collected their cushions and made their way, pizza and prosecco in hand, into the auditorium for a modern day adaptation of a literary classic. 

Inspired by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle collection of Sherlock Holmes stories and written by Molly Taylor, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes transports the famous detective from the murky streets of Victorian London to modern day Chester.

Having returned home to Chester, Holmes’ trusty side-kick, the self-assured Dr Jo Watson (ably portrayed by Alyce Liburd) is a guest on a live podcast, New Crime, True Crime.

During the podcast, she recounts the tale of The Chester Conundrum.

And so begins a gloriously silly romp which sees Watson attending the fictional Chester Crime Con, complete with the appearance of several fictional detectives including Kojak, Inspector Clouseau, the pink panther, Poirot and Velma from Scooby Doo.

Our hero is played with charisma, charm and energy by Ethan Reid.

His Sherlock is geeky, gangly, self absorbed and, annoyingly clever.

Reid brings some superb physicality to the role which adds another dimension to Sherlock’s quirky character.

‘Stupendously silly fight scene’

With a crime taking place at Eaton Hall, the action brings Holmes and Watson up against the local police in the shape of Detective Chief Inspector Ray played with great comedic effect by Howard Chadwick.

The plot, such as it is, of this Chester-based romp takes the audience on a journey which includes a stupendously silly fight scene, a hilarious karaoke version of I Will Survive and a masquerade ball hosted by The Duke and Duchess of Westminster (Eddy Westbury and Hannah Baker).

Is Mrs Hudson (Victoria Brazier) in danger? Just who is behind the plot to steal a priceless painting of the Duchess of Westminster? 

Could Holmes’ most notorious nemesis have struck again? There are numerous plot twists and turns as the story unfolds and plenty to keep the audience guessing. 

Music plays an important role in this production with several of the actors playing live throughout the show, the original music by musical director Paula James adding greatly to the atmosphere.

‘Supremely silly romp’

Hats off to Kaitlin Howard who crafted the aforementioned fight scene, with Grace Goulding taking the honours for movement and choreography.

Whilst any production in the open air theatre will always have to compete with some traffic noise, the occasional police car siren and church bells striking the hour, one niggle for me was that I couldn’t always hear what some of the cast were saying.

I did find myself relying on the captions at times. I felt that some of the cast perhaps needed to project a little more given the surroundings.

That said, it didn’t detract too much from the overall enjoyment of the production.

If you’re looking for a supremely silly romp this summer, look no further than The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes at the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre where the game is most definitely afoot.

Many thanks to the team at Storyhouse for inviting us to attend the press night and also for their warm welcome at the open air theatre in the glorious surroundings of Chester’s Grosvenor Park.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes runs at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester until 31 August.

We have given The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐