Line #42 Theatre/TheSecretOfSherlockHolmes


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_secret_of_sherlock_holmes.jpg]]
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3	''The Secret of Literature/SherlockHolmes'' is a play by Jeremy Paul, one of the script writers of [[Series/SherlockHolmes the famous Granada series]]. The original production starred Creator/JeremyBrett and his second [[TheWatson Watson]], Edward Hardwicke, in 1988 at Wyndham Theatre. In the summer of 2010, the play was revived at the Duchess Theatre in the West End. It was directed by Robin Hereford and starred Peter Egan and Robert Daws as Holmes and Watson, respectively.
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5	This two-man play is neither an adventure nor a whodunnit, but rather a [[{{Homage}} tribute]] to [[ThePowerOfFriendship the remarkable friendship]] of [[HeterosexualLifePartners Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.]] It is one hour long and divided into two Acts: Act I covers the friendship from their meeting in ''A Study in Scarlet'' to Holmes's faked death in "The Final Problem", while Act II deals with the friendship strained by Holmes's deception, as well as the titular secret.
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7	The last remnant of the play exists in the form of an audio recording made by Brett's close friends. An amateur restoration of Act I can be heard [[https://soundcloud.com/alison-carter/the-secret-of-sherlock-holmes-act-1 here]] and Act II is [[https://soundcloud.com/alison-carter/the-secret-of-sherlock-holmes-act-2 here]].
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9	----
10	!!This play provides examples of:
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12	* AlternateUniverse: Act II.
13	* BrutalHonesty: Holmes's [[TheReveal confession]]. Watson is ''not'' happy.
14	* ByronicHero: Holmes fits this beautifully and tragically.
15	* ChallengeSeeker: The play really emphasizes this part of Holmes's personality.
16	* TheChessmaster: Holmes, oh so hard.
17	* ContinuityNod: Many of the original short stories are compressed into snippets to fit the time slot and keep the focus on the friendship. Impressively, Watson [[HappilyMarried gets married]] (off-stage) to Mary Morstan [[Series/SherlockHolmes this time around.]]
18	* CursedWithAwesome: Holmes's intelligence. This is actually only canonical, but it's played to near-TearJerker effect in the story.
19	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Holmes reveals his unhappy childhood in a monologue to the audience.
20	* DarkerAndEdgier: Act II. Of course, Act I has its moments, as well...
21	* DeadpanSnarker: Holmes and Watson certainly have their moments...
22	-->'''Holmes:''' "Tell the truth, Watson, or at least as much of it as your gullible public will digest."
23	* GoodIsNotNice: Holmes in Act II.
24	* GuileHero: Need we really say?
25	* HeWhoFightsMonsters
26	* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: As Act I progresses, Holmes appears to grow somewhat distant from Watson, keeping things to himself - and it's really heartbreaking.
27	* IronicEcho:
28	-->'''[[KnightTemplar Hol]][[WellIntentionedExtremist mes:]]''' "It is evident that you don't know me."
29	-->'''Watson:''' "On the contrary, I think it very evident that I ''do''."
30	* LargeHam: Holmes in the original production. You think Creator/JeremyBrett was hammy in [[Series/SherlockHolmes the series]]? He takes it up to eleven on-stage, [[ChewingTheScenery chewing]] ''[[ChewingTheScenery enormous]]'' [[ChewingTheScenery chunks of scenery]].
31	* MasterOfDisguise: Naturally, as this is Literature/SherlockHolmes we're talking about, but Act II takes it up to eleven with one particular disguise. One theatre-goer reported that Creator/JeremyBrett transformed "with a shake of the head and a click of the tongue" into what this character looked like in the original Sidney Paget illustration.
32	* TheMcCoy: Watson.
33	* MeanCharacterNiceActor: [[spoiler:Holmes, in-universe. Though the niceness factor is [[GoodIsNotNice entirely questionable]]...]]
34	* NotSoStoic: [[TheAtoner "BECAUSE I COULD NOT]] [[BeingEvilSucks LIVE WITH HIM!"]]
35	* OffscreenVillainy: Moriarty.
36	* ThePowerOfFriendship: The CentralTheme of the play.
37	* PromotedToLoveInterest: Left ambiguous, but Holmes sounds suspiciously wistful when speaking of Irene Adler - Watson notices and rebukes him by saying that she is a married woman. Holmes counters sadly that she is dead.
38	* TheReveal:
39	-->[[spoiler:'''Holmes:''' "It is evident that you don't [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation know]] [[DiabolicalMastermind me."]]]]
40	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Holmes's (weak) justification for his titular secret.
41	* SherlockScan: [[TheWatson Watson]] actually does this on ''[[AloofBigBrother Mycroft]]'', of all people. And then [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome reveals his results]] to Sherlock much later on.
42	* TheSpock: Holmes.
43	* UnreliableNarrator: Holmes turns out to be this.
44	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The fate of Mary Watson is of those things that [[Creator/ArthurConanDoyle Doyle]] left vague, but, in the play, it's specified that she died during the Great Hiatus.
45	* WhatTheHellHero: Watson delivers [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry a harsh one]] to Holmes in Act II.
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Context Theatre / TheSecretOfSherlockHolmes