Cambridge Theatre

MICHAEL KENNEDY

IMAGINE that some time, Lloyd Webber and Rodgers and Hammerstein had

never existed. What would you expect to find in a musical about Sherlock

Holmes? Well, I'd expect lots of jolly Cockney knees-ups, plenty of

songs to stop the show but not many that illuminate the characters, let

alone advance the story. That's a pretty accurate description of the

entertainment at the Cambridge Theatre.

Surely the lyricist (Leslie Bricusse) should have consulted with the

author of the book (Bricusse) to sort out the odd anomaly -- as when

those lovable acrobat funsters, the Baker Street Irregulars, claim that

there's lots of gore on a dead body, while in the next scene Holmes

remarks on the complete absence of blood on the same corpse! I did

manage to hear that, but in general, the sound system renders the songs

fairly inaudible, which is a pity because they seemed pleasant, even if

the best of them is London Is London. This was retrieved from the film,

Goodbye Mr Chips, by its composer (Bricusse again).

The show never lives up to its opening as the impressive Ron Moody

(the image of Paget's drawing of our hero) fights with Moriarty at the

Reichenbach Falls. Julia Sutton is a brassy Mrs Hudson, much keener on a

knees-up in the street than in keeping an eye out for Liz Robertson's

gorgeous and well-sung femme fatale. Derek Waring seems diffident as Dr

Watson.