The Case of the Three Eyed Elephant - TeamAkers Productions (10.07.2025)

The Case of the Three Eyed Elephant is a fantastical, frenetic frolic through the foundations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation of Sherlock Holmes. Filled to the brim with daft gags, clever wordplay, silly costumes and even sillier accents, it's a hugely entertaining delight of a show, and one you'll find impossible not to get swept along with.

Written by Laurence Akers, Lewes Roberts, and Ryan Starling, this brand new play takes a highly comical look at Conan Doyle's early days as a medical student, where alongside his university mentor Joseph Bell, he embarks upon a quest to solve a murder mystery and save a man accused of a crime he didn’t commit.

It is (very) loosely based on the real life case of the wrongly convicted Oscar Slater, and does include a smattering of historical facts and interesting titbits along the way. But most of all, it is just very, very funny.

It's a razor sharp, self-aware script, where the comedy takes clear inspiration from the likes of Bottom, Blackadder, and Monty Python. It's brilliantly brought to life by the hardworking and versatile cast of just three, which includes writers Roberts and Starling along with Rachael Cummins, who do an incredible job of injecting humour into every line, action, and interaction. With such a small cast and the piece chugging on at quite some pace, the result is a number of ridiculously fast costume changes, which they use to their advantage to make the show even funnier.

All three are superb throughout, but highlights include Cummins' wide-ranging (and wandering) accents, Starling's turn as a Gen-Z chimp, and Roberts' general characterisation which calls to mind a combo of Lord Flashheart and Matt Berry. The cast are aided significantly by the technical team in order to assist with the slick changes and numerous props, and the lighting and sound technician's skill is tested to the full with the sheer number of cues that need to be executed with precision, and Tom Kelly showed he was up to the task, earning a number of assists for the laughs garnered by the actors onstage.

Suitable for all ages, it's a genuine delight to watch, and I highly, highly recommend it.

The Case of the Three Eyed Elephant continues at Sheringham Little Theatre until 12 July, before heading to two Norfolk Halls - Wolterton Hall near Aylsham, and Bylaugh Hall near Dereham on the 26 and 27 July.