Sure, it's illogical, but also entertaining

Shaw Festival’s Sherlock Holmes drama twists and turns toward an unlikely conclusion

- JOSHUA CHONG

From left, Michael Man, Kelly Wong, Damien Atkins, Johnathan Sousa and Sochi Fried star in “Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart,” at the Shaw Festival.

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart

1/2(out of 4) By Reginald Candy, based on characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, directed by Craig Hall. Until Oct. 13 at the Shaw Festival’s Festival Theatre, 10 Queen’s Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. shawfest.​com or 1-800-511-7429

Elementary, my dear reader. Elementary! What is, you say? Logic. For it’s the essential ingredient in crime fiction.

After twisting and turning toward a shocking conclusion, any good work of that genre should come together when the final blackout arrives, leaving audiences to replay the story in their mind, going through all the obvious clues that they’ve somehow managed to miss.

But if we’re to measure the Shaw Festival’s latest Sherlock Holmes play in those terms, the drama truly isn’t a detective mystery at all. Because this production is as illogical as they come, like watching a farcical spoof of Sherlock Holmes through a funhouse mirror.

And yet — somehow — this new show is still surprisingly entertaining. Just try not to think too hard about its ludicrous, nonsensical plot. Or you’ll be left, like me, with a headache.