Fierce Farceurs of Fun at Taproot

Nathan Brockett and Sophia Franzella (photo by Robert Wade)

Sherlock Holmes and the Precarious Position
Taproot Theatre
Through June 22, 2024 (happily extended)
 
Taproot Theatre has a clear preference for plays by Margaret Raether. They’ve done many of her Jeeves plays in recent years which are quite fun escapes from the doldrums of life, provide a laugh and a bit of mystery to solve. Raether has also written a “Sherlock Holmes” play, but rather than base it on a real Conan Doyle story, she’s crafted her own mystery and a version of Holmes that is far less serious than what you might be used to.
 
Here, her Holmes (played by Calder Jameson Shilling) is more gleeful than glum and more of a trickster than terse. She makes Dr. Watson the narrator (Nathaniel Tenenbaum), though some of the narration gets a bit muddy script-wise. Watson is also much less of a sober sidekick, with more emphasis on “kick” and less on “side.”
 
Shilling and Tenenbaum bring their usual finesse to these, as any, roles. But the real, dizzying work of the play is done by two well-known Seattle clowns, Nathan Brockett and Sophia Franzella. Brockett and Franzella play every other character in the script with costume changes (wonderfully designed by Pete Rush) that are so quick, sometimes, that they seem impossible.
 
The mystery here is a slight one, even though there is an attempt at murdering Holmes. So, the emphasis is on all those ancillary characters. I loved the changes in mood and execution and various British accents they play. Each new character shows more and more of the clowns’ range, especially as two very reclusive sisters who come to hire Holmes – they are irresistibly my favorites.
 
This is not a highbrow production. It has plenty of visual humor so children as young as about 6 would be entertained. The set (now apparently equipped with a small, effective turntable) by Mark Lund allows for multiple locations referred to in the script to be seamlessly changed quickly. None of what could have been complicated set changes slowed the rhythm of play here, at all.
 
Karen Lund has become one of the best “farce” directors in town, and seems to love to choose plays for Taproot to flex those muscles. The only suggestion I’d have for this script would have been to let Sherlock be a bit more serious and less gleeful.
 
I wouldn’t say this is Raether’s best play. But it is definitely fun! And never a vulgar word. Suitable for a wide audience who might want a little time-travel in silliness.
 
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