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Sherlock Delights in China!

Sherlock Delights in China!

08 Jul 2019, Posted by admin in Latest3

The team sampling the best of Beijing

Performance number 202 of Sherlock Holmes: The Sign Of Four at a sold out Buick Theatre at the Shanghai Grand has brought an incredible 4-week tour of China to an end. The tour, which started at the Beihang Concert Hall in Beijing on 11 June, has taken the cast and crew of The Sign Of Four to Tianjin, Changhzou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Guiyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and of course Shanghai. We’ve seen epic landscapes and even more epic cityscapes, performed in vast theatres – often sold out to delighted, enthusiastic Sherlock-loving audiences – and sampled the incredible culture China has to offer.

 

Tianjin Jinwan Theatre

It’s hard to sum up the experience of spending a month in a country like China, whose fascinating culture and traditions can seem so different to what we in Europe are used to. The sheer size of the country and the distance between cities is just one of them, but the high speed bullet trains (always on time!) transport you across the most breathtaking sights – sometimes jungle-like, sometimes mountainous, always wonderful and dramatic. And when you arrive, the astonishment continues; modern, massive, jaw dropping buildings that appear in ‘The World’s Tallest, The World’s Fastest Elevator’ lists. The places we visited were quite stunning, the people always warm and welcoming, particularly towards Luke (aka Sherlock) who was often asked for selfies, particularly in Shanghai. And it was hot, really hot!

Xinghai Theatre, Guangzhou

And then there’s the food. China certainly plays to the more adventurous eaters, but there’s something for everyone, including the Vegans in the cast. The menus are varied and fascinating, and the food bursting with incredible flavours. Whichever city you’re in, a stroll down a street or through a market brings another fascinating discovery, whether it be groups of people dancing in pairs on the pavement, the selection of scorpions available to eat at a food stand or the beautiful, often haunting historical monuments.

Luke meets a proper Sherlock fan!

The China tour in turn brings to an end Blackeyed’s longest ever tour, one that previewed at New Theatre Royal Portsmouth on 6 September 2018 and has played over 200 performances to over 50,000 people in 70 towns and cities across the UK, the Netherlands and China. It’s a world premiere that saw us team up once again with playwright Nick Lane to create a brand new adaptation of Conan Doyle’s second Sherlock Holmes novel and give the great sleuth new relevance for 21st century theatre audiences. If you’ve been to see us, thank you! We hope we did justice to such a well-loved novel and entertained you in the process!

Thank you too to our fantastic team of artists; to Nick, Tristan, Victoria, Naomi and Claire. And of course, a big congratulations to the crack team on the road; to our company stage managers, Russ and Caroline, and to our incredible actors; Luke, Joseph, Stephanie, Chris, Zach and Ru. We wish them all well with their future adventures!

Until our next adventure… case closed!

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