10 Jun 2023
In a blasted world, two survivors – a doctor and an actor – pass the time by staging their favourite story salvaged from the flames: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet. But when tensions arise around casting, more than dead bodies start to surface…
OVO presents their first co-production with Pitlochry Festival Theatre at the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival: ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Lipstick, Ketchup and Blood’, adapted by Lesley Hart.
Festival artistic director Adam Nichols said: “We’re absolutely delighted to present our first co-production with the Pitlochry Festival Theatre and their clever, two-hander production of ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Lipstick, Ketchup, and Blood’ by Lesley Hart.
“I think it’ll work brilliantly in the Roman Theatre and, as the sun goes down each evening, it’ll add to the legendary, puzzle-solving brilliance of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle’s world-famous creation. I saw – and loved – the play at Pitlochry last year and I’m thrilled that Pitlochry’s Artistic Director, Elizabeth Newman, has agreed to bring the production to us in St Albans.”
Pitlochry Festival artistic director Elizabeth Newman added: “We are thrilled to be working with OVO. It’s a theatre company that we’ve long admired; the work of Adam and the team is exceptional and it’s great to be a small part of it this summer. We look forward to growing our connection and relationship with such an impactful and inspirational organisation.”
Lesley explained her take on the Baker Street legend: “Sherlock Holmes stories are classic puzzles which are solved logically and that’s one of the many things I love about them. In adapting A Study in Scarlet, which introduces two of the most iconic characters in literature, Holmes and Watson, I wanted to reimagine it for a purely theatrical space, outdoors, unplugged, with only two actors.
“I’ve focused on the forging of Holmes and Watson’s partnership via their first joint murder investigation and injected lots of drama and theatricality into it.
“I’ve framed the story within a different context: a future time or alternative ‘now’ where the Earth is uninhabitable, civilisation has collapsed, and two survivors are putting on their stage version of A Study in Scarlet every day to cling to a sense of nostalgia, sanity and order amid the chaos of their changed lives.
“On every level, this adaptation is a story of partnership, co-dependency, and the science and art of survival.
“The Roman Theatre is a gorgeous and wondrous space, in an incredibly beautiful outdoor setting – its ancient design feels timeless and universal. Telling stories out of doors and in the elements feels different from being indoors.”
The production is directed by Marc Small who added: “Directing the inimitable Deirdre Davis is always a joy and a surprise – she is such a wonderful, generous actor. Lesley Hart provides a funny and poignant script that interweaves the characters’ reality with a murder mystery and I think the Roman Theatre serves as the perfect backdrop to the unfolding drama.”
You can see A Study in Lipstick at the Roman Theatre between June 13-June 18 at 7.30pm (and 2.30pm on June 17). For tickets go to www.ovo.org.uk.
