Anything Can Happen

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Prolific playwright Randy Petersen tackles time travel in his latest play, The Red Letter Locker.

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Premiering November 17 and 18 at BTP’s Fall Showcase, this new one-act play by the local author transports Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to 2017 in a time machine built by his friend, H.G. Wells. Doyle meets a high school student, who’s been wrongfully accused of a crime, and helps her clear her name using Sherlockian deduction.

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“This is a light, fun play that follows one character—high school student, Mia—on a path of self-discovery, with the help of a time-traveling author,” Petersen says. “Together they're solving a mystery, but Mia is also learning how to interact with her world.”

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When approached by BTP to write a Sherlock-themed show, Petersen toyed with a few ideas, knowing that he wanted to include time travel. When he learned that Doyle and Wells, author of the classic novel The Time Machine, were friends, it clicked.

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“A slight flight of fancy would allow Wells to actually build such a machine and Doyle to test it out,” Petersen muses. “Hey, it's theatre. Anything can happen.”

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