Sherlock Holmes and The 12 Days of Christmas

Sherlock Holmes and The 12 Days of Christmas
Production artwork
Written by	David Reed Humphrey Ker
Based on	Characters from Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Music by	Tim Rice (lyrics) Andrew Lloyd Webber (music)
Date premiered	14 November 2025 (2025-11-14)
Place premiered	Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Original language	English
Genre	Comedy
Setting	London

Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas is a musical comedy play by David Reed and Humphrey Ker (two members of The Penny Dreadfuls), with songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Plot

A series of deaths in the West End embroils Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a mystery linked the Twelve Days of Christmas. ^[1]

Production

The play had its world premiere at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre beginning previews 14 November 2025 (with a press night on 20 November) running until 18 January 2026 (after being extended from 11 January due to popular demand), directed by Phillip Breen with Becky Hope-Palmer and designed by Mark Bailey. ^{[2] [3]}

In addition to writing, Ker and Reed also star as Holmes and Watson, respectively. The cast also includes Margaret Cabourn-Smith as Mrs. Hudson, and John Kearns as Inspector Lestrade. ^[4] The full cast was announced on 30 September 2025. ^[5]

Cast and characters

Character	Birmingham
	2025
Sherlock Holmes	Humphrey Ker
Dr. Watson	David Reed
Mrs. Hudson	Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Inspector Lestrade	John Kearns
Fafner	Christian Andrews
Ernie	Susan Harrison
Arthur Stone	Cameron Johnson
Wotan	Andrew Pugsley
Queen Victoria	Deborah Tracey
Athena Faversham	Helena Wilson
Chorus	Amanda Lindgren
	Mia Overfield
	Chomba S Taulo

References

1. Wood, Alex (20 May 2025). "Cast revealed for Sherlock Holmes comedy with songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice". WhatsOnStage.com . Retrieved 20 May 2025.
2. "Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice to reunite for new show Sherlock Holmes And The Twelve Days Of Christmas | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
3. Wiegand, Chris (2025-02-11). "Sign of the four: Sherlock Holmes returns for Christmas comedy by two duos". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-04-10.
4. Ramachandran, Naman (20 May 2025). "'Sherlock Holmes' Christmas Comedy to Star Emmy Winner Humphrey Ker, David Reed (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 20 May 2025.
5. Wood, Alex (30 September 2025). "Full cast revealed for Sherlock Holmes comedy with songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice". WhatsOnStage.com . Retrieved 1 October 2025.