arts // no. 8

The game Is afoot at Douglas College

» Alumni and students present Sherlock Holmes comedy

Cheryl Minns
Arts Editor
Marts@theotherpress.ca

D etective Sherlock Holmes
and Dr. John Watson
might not seem like the typical
comedy duo, but in Adam
Tatelman’s Sherlock Holmes and
the Redheaded League, the team
is laugh-out-loud funny. The
play is being held in Douglas
College’s Studio Theatre from
January 26-28 and features
students and graduates of the
college’s theatre program.

Sherlock Holmes and the
Redheaded League is based on
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short
story published in 1891. The
play follows Hamish Wilson
(Keenan Bender Johnston), a
redheaded London pawnbroker
who is hired by Duncan Ross
(alumnus Levi Williams) to
copy the encyclopedia by hand
at the Redheaded League for £4
a week. He later discovers the

Holmes (alumnus Tatelman) and
Watson (alumnus Beau Picard)
to solve the mystery of the
league. After the detective duo
visits Wilson’s assistant, Vincent
Spaulding (student Noah
Oryema), they call in Inspector
Lestrade (student Christian
Krushel} to catch the culprits
and reveal the Redheaded
League’s true purpose.

The actors perform the play
in traditional British accents,
although the story’s original
dialogue is modernized with
contemporary language and

: features improvisation and

: audience participation. Since

: Some moments are improvised,

: it’s worth seeing the play more

: than once to see the different

: jokes in each production. For

: those interested in participating
: in the play, one audience

° : member per show is invited
league has dissolved and turns to : to come onstage and apply for
: membership to the Redheaded
: League during a scene.

Sherlock Holmes and the

: Redheaded League makes good

: use of the limited space in the

: Studio Theatre, using the room’s
: two doors as part of the show

: and performing certain scenes

: around the multiple rows of

: audience seating. Those seated

: in the front row will almost feel

: like they are part of the final

: showdown with cap guns going

: off and a staged brawl happening :
: only a few feet from their seats.

 

The sets are minimalistic

: with a few choice furniture

: pieces, which allows the actors

: to easily move from one scene

: to the next with all sets present
: on the stage. The play begins in
: Holmes’ residence—a table and
: chairs located centre upstage—
: where Wilson describes his first
: encounter with the Redheaded — :
: League, a scene which then takes }
: place at Ross’s office desk located !
: on the right side of the stage. :

For the play’s climax,

: the actors redress the stage

: by placing three large boxes

: at the front for Holmes,

: Watson, and Lestrade to hide
: behind, then turning off the

: Studio Theatre’s lights so the
: three men’s flashlights are

: the only light source. Using

: the flashlights to light the

stage cleverly draws audience

: members into the scene, making

theotherpress.ca

Sherlock Holmes &

Whe Kedlneadled| League

January 26,27,28 - 8:00pm (doors 7:30)
tae Or eae Mi lee ect mie
700 Royal Ave, New Westminster Campus

Admission by donation

 

them feel like they are actually
; a part of the crime scene
: that is about to take place.

Sherlock Holmes and the

Redheaded League will be
: performed at 8 p.m. on January
* 26-28 in the Douglas College

Photo by Cheryl Minns; Play poster by Ed Appleby

: Studio Theatre on the fourth

: floor of the New Westminster

: campus. The show is open to

: all ages, including students and
: members of the community.

: Admission is by donation.

 

Chairman of the Board: Save the cat!

» ‘Flashpoint’ board game review

Ed Appleby
Illustrator

( rooperative board games

require many players working :

together against the game. Be it
saving the world from infectious

or mysteries unimaginable,
each player has their strengths
and the whole team works
towards the goal through careful
planning and strategy. These
games usually encompass a
grand quest where decisions
work in the range of hours or
days rather than seconds.
Flashpoint is a cooperative
board game for 1-6 players
designed by Kevin Lanzing
and published by Indie Boards
& Cards in 2011. In the game,
players control firefighters
of various specialties trying
to save people and pets from

: a burning building before it

: collapses. Players must do what
: they can with their limited

: actions to control the fire,

: remove hazardous materials,

and explore points of interest.
The gameplay comes down

: to coordinating all of the players
outbreak, monsters from beyond, : ® fighta fire that is completely

: random and can get out of hand

: very fast. The gameplay is fast,

: working in a much tighter area

: with simpler actions than other

: cooperative games like Pandemic,
: and the fire’s randomness

: and intensity means you can’t

: plan too far in advance.

I would recommend this

: game to everyone, from solo

: enthusiasts to families. The

: fast turns and cooperative

: gameplay make this a great

: game to play among friends,

: and the fast pace and very

: human life-or-death nature

: of the gameplay makes wins

: exhilarating and losses crushing.

  

Illustration by Ed Appleby