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Sherlock Holmes vs Arsène Lupin: A Drag Crime Caper

 
Elanor Parker Review by Elanor Parker 4 Published: 23 May 2026 Multiple Venues Show Dates: 16 May 2026-21 May 2026

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle might not have imagined his two most enduring characters – Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson – to be in a will-they-won’t-they gay relationship, but Sherlock Holmes vs Arsène Lupin: A Drag Crime Caper brings the dreams of a thousand Tumblr slash fiction writers to life.

What sets this performance apart is the sheer love and joy poured into every corner

The game is a farce; we start off across the pond in France with the arrest and then almost immediate escape of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief created by French author Maurice Leblanc as the dapper and rakish criminal counterpart to the more forensical and detached Holmes.

Despite its longer than the Fringe average runtime of 120 minutes, it doesn’t outstay its welcome. In fact, after a slightly sluggish start, the performance soon warms into its impressively fast-paced witty repartee once Lupin and Holmes meet and it could be said that the second half is even better than the first. Occasionally, as the jokes come in thick and fast, they’re not always given the space to land. However, too many jokes is a good problem for a comedy to have and if you miss one then another zinger will be sure to tickle your ears before too long (or is that the feeling of the feather duster belonging to Alex Scarrott’s five o’clock shadowed, chain smoking Mrs Hudson?)

Chully Mullock is suave and seductive as the disguise master Lupin; their lip sync to a cover of Fiona Apple’s ‘Criminal’ is a classic burlesque-inspired treat. On the whole, the show’s needle drops are well chosen, with a swing cover of Lady Gaga’s 'Bad Romance' becoming the excellent accompaniment for a very amusing montage of crime escapades.

However, it’s when Maria Evans’ Sherlock Holmes enters that the fun truly notches up a gear, lighting up the stage with their energy as a rather foolish version of the iconic detective, fully dressed in tweed cap and deerstalker. It would be easy for John Watson’s more sedate narrator to be drowned out by these bigger characters, but Esther Dracott more than holds their own in the midst of all the chaos, perfectly embodying the earnest doctor in the middle of a love triangle.

Special mention must also go to Emma Howarth’s boat rowing mime as the gullible Inspector Ganiard , Michael Grant’s glamorous and occasionally Jack Lemmon referencing Irene Adler, and Phaedra Danelli’s wide eyed love sick Josephine, the woman that Lupin will never fall for.

What sets this performance apart is the sheer love and joy poured into every corner of it. Writer Samuel Masters has clearly done his homework and isn't shy about deep cuts, even naming the show's Escape Room after Herlock Sholmès, Leblanc's copyright-dodging stand-in for a certain pipe-smoking detective. Every prop, too, has been crafted with loving precision in the noble pursuit of maximum silliness.

Anyone in the mood for a gloriously silly night of double entendres, show-stopping numbers, and fabulous drag versions of familiar faces will have an absolute ball. The only real miss? No Lupin belting out Piaf's ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’, though perhaps they're saving that for a sequel. And on this showing, there's plenty of scope for one.

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The Blurb:

A new camp comedy pitting England’s most famous consulting detective against France’s most infamous gentleman burglar. Arsène Lupin voyages across the Channel to challenge Sherlock Holmes, with Dr John Watson caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between these literary legends. The Department of Ulterior Motives (DUM) specialises in high-concept, low-budget productions that blend physical performance and accessible storytelling with a mischievously political edge. Their debut production, an adaptation of The Man Who Was Thursday, was selected for SPRINT Festival 2026 at Camden People’s Theatre.