Why Sherlock Holmes?

I’ve reflected from time to time over the past decade on how, of all possible fictional characters, I ended up writing an original Sherlock Holmes play every other year. 

I’ve always enjoyed Holmes’ intellect, and his interesting friendship with Dr. Watson. But prior to 2008 I hadn’t read all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories, and I certainly wouldn’t have considered writing an original Holmes story.

To date I’ve written seven, and I blame it all on my good friends Jim and Janine Bock. Back in 2007 or 2008, the Bocks took a trip to Cape May, New Jersey to participate in a Sherlock Holmes Mystery Weekend. They had a ball, and on the way home, asked themselves why we couldn’t do something similar in Cambridge, Ohio.

Janine called me up a few days later and told me about their experience, which sounded like lots of fun. When I said as much, she told me she thought we could do something similar, as a fundraiser for a local school.

I said great, count me in! To which she replied she’d been hoping I’d feel that way, as she wanted me to write the play.

I laughed, and reminded her that while I can write, and had acted in and directed plenty of plays – mostly musicals! – I’d never attempted to write a play script, let alone one that would please audiences while keeping as close to Doyle’s canon as possible.

She promised that she and Jim were avid Holmesians, and would keep me honest; and after all, it was for a good cause. So I reluctantly agreed to try.

I started by reading Doyle’s stories, and as I did my respect for  his genius and my excitement at the idea of using his characters to create my own story began to excite me.

And that is how “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Taylor Tontine” was born. That first script relied heavily on the history of our part of Southeast Ohio for the meat of the story, reaching back to events during the time of the Civil War for the basis of the crime Holmes and Watson solve. The Bocks were very attentive to details, often saying, “Hmmm, I don’t think Holmes would do that,” or, “Well, that’s good, but Watson would never say that.” 

We produced that first show on a cold January weekend in the social hall of the school for which we were raising money. A number of people attended from around Ohio and even a few from surrounding states. 

Our weekend isn’t like one of those dinners where each guest gets a part to play. We have actors playing all the parts, and the audience tries to solve the crime(s) to win a prize.

We did Act One on Friday night with desserts, coffee and tea. Saturday we did a search for clues in the historic downtown Cambridge area, and in one of our historic homes. Saturday night we did Act Two, again with desserts and coffee/tea. That night we had an afterglow at our local theater – which happens to have once been named The Strand Theater – perfect for Holmes fans! Sunday morning we served brunch, and the participants turned in their clue sheets to try and win the $250 prize, followed by Act Three and the Big Reveal. Everyone had a ball, and we agreed we’d do it again in two years. 

In subsequent years we made some changes. We learned people would rather not travel in January, when there was a real danger of bad weather, not to mention cold! We decided to coordinate with our town’s remarkable Dickens Victorian Village organization, which has holiday-themed events which take place beginning November 1 and run through December. We also decided after getting feedback from attendees to keep the event two days, so that people could head home Sunday morning. 

We also decided that, having spent two months learning a show, we wanted to perform it more than once. So now we do the Murder Mystery Weekend the first weekend of November, followed by two weekends of regular theater where we do the entire show at once six times over two weekends.

The plays I’ve written have varied from very serious to rather humorous, and I’m pleased with them all. Although my friend Janine has told me I don’t have to kill anyone in a Sherlock Holmes mystery, I must be bloodthirsty, because I’m really enjoying knocking people off in these plays.

I’ll explain how the whole event weekend works on another page. 

So this is how I came to find myself an honest-to-goodness playwright! And I can honestly say, the group of people who make up our little Sherlock Holmes theater group, all amateurs, and I are having a ball. As I write this, we’ve just finished our seventh production, “Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Claustrophobic Conundrum.” Written during the pandemic, and with COVID safety in mind, it’s a bit different than the rest. Nobody is “killed” on stage, and nobody has to touch anybody else. It could be performed in face shields with everyone social distancing. I didn’t know when I started it what the situation would be by November, 2021. 

In 2023, things will hopefully be “back to normal,” whatever that means, and I’ll be able to relax the self-imposed precautions we took this year.

Please take a look at the various scripts. I’ve listed necessary cast and set suggestions with each one. Each show works as a murder mystery weekend or as a stand-alone show. If you have questions, feel free to contact me through the email provided.

I know you and your theater group will enjoy producing these plays, as we have done. Enjoy! The game is afoot!

Yours in Sleuthing,
Anne Chlovechok