Playwright Kate Hamill thrives on reimagining stories

This time around she picks on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. Watson.

In Trinity’s latest trend to discover female acting talents, director Laura Kepley has recruited two fine actresses with impressive credentials to play Ms. Sherlock Holmes (Renata Eastlick) and Dr. Joan Watson (Madeleine Maby) in the wild and crazy “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson — APT. 2B.”

Apt. 2B is the messy London flat of Ms. Holmes who is given a flatmate by her meddling landlady (Angela Brazil).

Hamill reimagines a variety of Doyle’s characters and stories as performed through the thoughts and actions of two women.

Holmes is a chatty, fast-talking detective with a computer-like brain who has never heard of Google as a fact checker.

Watson is a divorced former ER doctor, looking to escape her hectic life.

They are joined by Inspector Lestrade (played by the always hilarious Jeff Church) to solve a murder in the first long act, and move on to more accomplishments in the equally long second act.

The two-and-a-half-hour production takes place in the downstairs theatre, while renovations are going on upstairs. Collette Pollard’s cluttered set is constructed in front of the equally frantic “POTUS,” which is being performed in repertory.

Scene changes at times become awkward, especially the use of a moving doorway used to “enter” Apt. 2B.

Brazil, a 20-year veteran of Trinity’s changing repertory company and church and the hottest actor/director in Rhode Island’s theatre scene, plays a variety of characters, spicing up the action and upstaging Holmes and Watson at every turn.

Subtle and not-so-subtle issues are dealt with as the crew deals with many “elementary” issues, culminating in the final scene where Holmes and Watson deal with their relationship.

While playwright Hamill can get a bit carried away at times, the four person cast shines through in their many roles.

“Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson — APT. 2B” is at Trinity Rep through Nov 17. Call 351-4242 or visit
www.trinityrep.com/attending/buy-tickets/ for tickets.