Writer-director Nick Lane talks new play ‘Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Moriarty’: “Neither the Holmesian devotees or the first-time visitors to 221B Baker Street will know what’s going to happen”

Following the success of their two previous productions, Blackeyed Theatre brings the shrewdest detective in Baker Street back to the stage with this new original play combining several of Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories. Guillermo Nazara chats with the man behind its creation to learn more about its development and what’s on the plot.

How did the idea for this third Sherlock Holmes adaptation come about?

After the previous Holmes adaptations I’d written for Blackeyed Theatre (The Sign of Four, 2018, The Valley of Fear, 2022), it was decided, jointly – by myself and Adrian McDougall, the Artistic Director – that we would look to incorporate a number of the short stories that make up the bulk of the canon. And, of course, it had to include Moriarty, because he’s pretty much synonymous with the great detective.

What prompted you to combine three of Conan Doyle’s short stories into a full-length stage play?

It’s down to Conan-Doyle, really.  His Holmes stories are so rich, so diverse, and so cleverly plotted I felt sure that, if I could weave a few together, not only would I be creating something that Holmes aficionados would recognise, but in creating an overarching narrative that connected our chosen stories, I’d also be making a wholly new mystery that entertained everyone equally.

There’s a total of 56 of short stories starring Baker Street’s best-known detective. What made you select these three in particular?

Well, there are actually six or seven stories referred to or cross-referenced during the course of the play, though yes, the Conan-Doyle-led part of the narrative is driven by just three. Two of the three are similar in their jeopardies and aims, and one – the third, is particularly well-known and creates a terrific ending, drawing elements of the other two together (along with the original narrative). Do I tell you which those stories are? I’m not sure I should – in a way, it’s fun if you know the stories to spot them (and they’re not hard to spot) in situ.

Has the short length of the source allowed more space for creative liberty?

It has for the most part – weaving my original material into the stories in order to connect the crimes would have been harder (and more lengthy for an audience, I suspect) were I to have tried to bring together three full-length novels!

How faithful have you tried to stay to the original material?

In terms of the crimes Holmes is looking to solve, I’ve tried to retain Doyle’s purity in that regard… and the beats of each story –okay, two of the three– remain largely intact (one of them I needed to change a little in order to create a clue for Holmes and Watson). I’d argue that the one I had to alter still retains the character and voice of the original author. My hope is that the whole play feels connected, seamless, and very much from one voice – Doyle’s.

Apart from what it entails to merge several works in one, what particular challenges have you found in the writing of this show?

Oh, there’s been lots! Doyle was such a great writer, and one of his skills was not only in weaving some fiendishly enjoyable crime thrillers but in showing to his readers a world beyond their own. He was of course writing at a time when travel –particularly travel abroad– wasn’t as frequent, and information, now literally available at the swipe of a smartphone’s screen, was something one had to seek out. In this way, he was able to comment on his world sociopolitically while also entertaining them. I don’t mean to say that his stories were all polemical or served a particular end, but he did look into racism, slavery, the Ku Klux Klan, the Mafia, foreign politics… Holmes’s eye saw all! So one of my personal challenges was to try and find a way to honour that, to create something that would fit neatly within the late Victorian era but that might also have contemporary resonance. Then, of course, the other challenge is in how to bring crime fiction to life on stage. It’s a tough ask, since the very nature of the procedural investigation is that the crime has already happened. So, unless you’re investing heavily in flashbacks, then the scenes could turn into lots of finding things and asking questions. Now a few of those scenes are great (and a lot of fun to write), but every scene? That might get repetitive and reflect poorly on the skill of Doyle as a writer, so I really wanted to find ways to keep the investigation ‘live.’ Tough, but I think we managed it!

In terms of character development, how would you describe your approach to Sherlock and also his all-time nemesis? Have you endowed the characters with any new traits?

I always try to go back to the source material, for both Holmes and Moriarty (and Watson, since he’s our eyes into Holmes’ world and a key part of this). Holmes is such a fantastic character, so multi-faceted and so well-drawn that he can stand a variety of widely different interpretations. I’d like to think I’ve drawn out his restless –and tireless– intellect, his love of drama and showmanship, and his dogged pursuit of a case for its own sake. Watson is easier in some ways since he narrates all but a handful of the stories so we don’t know much about him other than his loyalty to Holmes (and a similar sense of justice). Professor Moriarty on the other hand… he’s more of a blank canvas than you’d think. Those who know the character from the television and film adaptations might assume that he dominates the majority of the Holmes canon, when in fact he’s physically in only one short story. He’s referred to in a handful of others, but his description – given by Holmes to Watson in that one tale (The Final Problem) – is of a foe so significant, so equal in intelligence and so cunning, that I do understand why he was seized upon and elevated to such a degree. It has meant, however, that I was able to make him more “my” Moriarty – just as smart and sinister, and with just as analytical and terrible a brain as the character Doyle created… but with certain aspects that not every interpretation of the Professor brings out. I really don’t want to say any more than that. Let’s keep it mysterious…

What, would you say, make this new piece stand out from both yours and any other previous stage adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories?

Okay, well, a bit of a confession – I’ve not seen any other stage interpretations of Holmes! There’s a ‘radio play on stage’ version of The Sign of Four touring at the moment, with Colin Baker playing Holmes, and I’m sure it’s great… and many years ago, must be thirty or more, while touring as an actor myself, I booked a ticket to see a matinee of Sherlock Holmes and the Crucifer of Blood because I was in a theatre just up the road… but my car (a Morris Ital – anyone remember them?) ended up needing to go to a garage for the week and I couldn’t make the train times work in order to get back for the show I was in. Anyway, all that is to say that it’s hard for me to say what makes this version stand out against other adaptations. I will say that having the freedom to create a new mystery that Holmes Watson (and Mrs. Hudson, who I’ve enjoyed bringing into the limelight a little more) engage with, I guess makes it stand out as no-one – neither the Holmesian devotees or the first-time visitors to 221B Baker Street will know what’s going to happen!

Is there anything elementary about this production?

Elementary as in straightforward? Almost nothing, my dear Watson. Trust no-one, keep your ears open and your wits about you…   

Why come see Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Moriarty?

Well, I’d say first and foremost because Conan-Doyle’s creations are wonderful to write for and to bring to the stage and the plots are intriguing and ingenious – and the cast we’ve assembled for this production is utterly fantastic, they really are.  Beyond that, I’d say that what anyone wants to bring to the stage is the same as what people want when they take their seats – a cracking good night (or afternoon). And I believe that that’s what this is. A cracking good time in the theatre.

Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Moriarty is currently on tour and will play until 23 May 2026. Tickets and venue information are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara