By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — What if Sherlock Holmes lived in modern times and were a woman? And what if Watson were also a woman and the two met accidentally when Watson answered an ad for a flatmate? That seems to be the inspiration for Kate Hamill’s reimagining of the Sherlock Holmes story in Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B now playing at the Old Globe.
In this quirky tale, American Joan Watson (Natalie Woolams-Torres) is running away from a failed marriage and pandemic-related job burnout and makes her way to London where she becomes roommates with the eccentric sleuth Sherlock Holmes (Ruibo Qian). Although she initially tries to resist Holmes’ attempts to draw her into the investigations, she soon finds herself becoming Holmes’ unwitting sidekick. Chaos ensues.
The show moves quickly and has room for lots of laughs. The villains and fighting scenes are both over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek. Performed in the theater-in-the round, the set is minimal, relying on a chessboard floor with tiles that pop open to allow people and props to be passed up to the stage. Drop down props help the audience imagine the various settings like the hotel room, or Apt 2B where Watson and Holmes live. A chair and table are pushed around the stage. Everything else relies on the talented cast. And wow, are they talented.
Woolams-Torres has a casual acting style that just feels completely natural. Her facial expressions and vocal intonations are spot on, and she’s the perfect straight woman. What really impressed me about her though was how much of a presence she has even when she isn’t speaking or in the center of the action.
Holmes’ character is unconventional and steampunkish and Qian’s expert handling makes it engaging and believable, even though she has to maintain an English accent throughout the whole performance. The chemistry between the two actors makes them really fun to watch.
Rounding out the cast are Nehal Joshi and Jenn Harris who each play multiple characters.
Although there’s no specifically Jewish character, the dialogue is sprinkled with Yiddish, perhaps to remind us that Watson hails from New York.
There’s also a full-circle element to the play in that Playwright Hamill was just about to open her adaptation of Little Women on the Globe’s main stage when the world shut down in March of 2020.
Though it’s set only just post-pandemic, the show is a delightful 2-hour escape from everyday life. It runs through Aug 25.
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Sandi Masori is a theater and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.