The lead role of Holmes is masterfully handled by Mark Uhre in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol.

by Don Bodger, Cowichan News Leader Pictorial

Plug any person in need of retribution into the timeless tale of A Christmas Carol and the yuletide will always be bright. And humanity will surely benefit in the long run.

That’s essentially the premise behind Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol, currently playing at the Chemainus Theatre Festival until Dec. 31 with a short break over Christmas.

Sherlock’s life is depicted in the manner of Scrooge in the original tale. There are twists and turns in the story because of their different personal backgrounds but the end result is basically the same.

Sherlock, brilliantly portrayed by experienced actor Mark Uhre, is quite a genius. While admired for his contributions to society, he is also despised for a bad attitude.

There’s nothing like a visit from three ghosts — representing the past, present and future — to put things into perspective for Holmes.

The whole experience proves a bit bewildering at first for the old chap.

Mark Uhre plays a marvellous Sherlock Holmes in the Chemainus Theatre Festival’s production of ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol’.

by Andrea Rondeau, The Citizen

A clever idea and a really clever script, along with great performances make Chemainus Theatre Festival’s Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol just the heartwarming, fun event to put you in the Christmas spirit.

Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is a classic tale so wellknown that it can start to cause fatigue when one contemplates seeing it – again.

But by marrying that tale with the characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s world of Sherlock Holmes, the whole thing is new again in all the best ways.

The great detective himself takes on the role of Scrooge, and playwright John Longenbaugh makes Holmes’s Christmas miserliness both sad and laugh-out-loud amusing at the same time.

Holmes’s disdain for politeness and courtesy come out in acerbic dialogue witty enough to be funny, while the audience still understands and empathizes with their devastating effects on his friends.