Sherlock Holmes as high speed farce!
“The games afoot, Watson.”
Sherlock Holmes
On a cool but mostly dry evening, I attended the opening production of OVO’s 12th Annual Roman Theatre Open Air Festival: a new adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, staged at the atmospheric Roman Theatre of Verulamium in St Albans. Although often described locally as a “Roman theatre”, we were reminded before the performance that the site owes much of its present form to excavations completed before the Second World War. Whatever its origins, the space remains striking, and OVO have once again made imaginative use of its unusual layout.
The first impression on arrival is the sheer ambition with which the company embraces the site. With no conventional backstage area and only a series of staircases and entrances facing the audience, the production relies on clever movement, brisk transitions and a minimal but effective set. Tables, chairs and even picture frames are repurposed with ingenuity, becoming windows, doorways or props as required. It is a reminder that constraint often breeds creativity.
This new adaptation, written and directed by Mark O’Sullivan, draws on several of Conan Doyle’s stories and presents them as a fast‑paced, often comic whirlwind through Holmes’s world. O’Sullivan, a Royal Television Society award‑winner, leans into the humour already present in the original texts and “turns the funny up”, as he puts it. The result is a lively mixture of mystery, character comedy and affectionate parody, without losing sight of the friendship at the heart of the Holmes–Watson partnership.
The cast of four take on an impressive twenty‑five roles between them. Lachlan McCall leads as Sherlock Holmes, with Anna MacLeod Franklin as Dr Watson, and both deliver performances that balance clarity with quick‑fire character changes. Max Gallagher and Jessica Vickers complete the ensemble, switching between roles with speed, physicality and a good deal of wit. The multi‑roling is not merely a necessity but a feature of the production, and the audience clearly enjoyed the rapid transformations and occasional deliberate absurdity.
Despite the limitations of the open‑air setting, the production moves confidently between London streets, country houses and even mountain‑tops, aided by Simon Nicholas’s simple but effective set design and Jack Hathaway’s lighting, which makes the most of the fading evening light. The Roman Theatre remains a unique backdrop, and OVO’s long experience with the space shows in the fluidity of the staging.
If there is a theme running beneath the humour, it is the enduring appeal of Holmes’s logic and observation, set against the social injustices and human frailties that Conan Doyle wove into his stories. O’Sullivan’s adaptation captures this balance well, offering both entertainment and a reminder of why these tales continue to fascinate.
Malcolm Beckett has been reviewing theatre since 2017
Production Notes
Sherlock Holmes
Written by Conan Doyle
Adapted and Directed by
Mark O’Sullivan
Cast
Starring:
Anna MacLeod Franklin
Max Gallagher
Lachlan McCall
Jessica Vickers
Creatives
Director: Mark O’Sullivan
Set Designer: Simon Nicholas
Costume Designer: Ciéranne Kennedy
Lighting Designer: Jack Hathaway
Fight Director: Kev McCurdy, Sam Lyon-Behan
Information
Running Time: Two hours 30 minutes including an interval
Booking to 20th June 2026
Theatre:
The Roman Theatre of Verulamium
Bluehouse Hill
St Albans
AL3 6AE
Website: ovo.org.uk
Transport: The theatre is a 37 minute walk from St Alban’s Rail Station
Reviewed by Malcolm Beckett
at the Roman Theatre of Verulamium
on 9th June 2026