Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice Set to Collaborate on Sherlock Holmes Musical Comedy

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice—the musical partnership behind Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita—are set to collaborate for the first time in years. The duo will pen original songs for a new comedy whodunnit, Sherlock Holmes and the Twelve Days of Christmas, which will premiere at Birmingham Rep on November 14 for a limited engagement through January 11, 2026.

In a joint statement, Rice and Lloyd Webber said, “Sherlock Holmes and the Twelve Days of Christmas is pure mischief. It has the exuberance of a Christmas tree, the joy of a panto and a plot worthy of Conan Doyle. It’s wonderful to be working together again on something so unashamedly fun.”

The play is written by Humphrey Ker and David Reed, who said, “There are few things that put us more in the mood for Christmas than all piling into the theatre for some much needed festive cheer. And what could be cheerier than a series of brutal murders underscored by a few new bangers from the mighty duo of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber?”

Rice had previously ruled out working together again, saying they are “not relevant as a team anymore.” Lloyd Webber and Rice last shared co-writing credits in 2011, when they wrote new numbers for The Wizard of Oz. Their last major collaboration was 1978's Evita; a possible Sunset Boulevard collaboration was not to be.

It’s Christmas in Victorian London but in the West End, a flurry of performers are suddenly dying mid-scene. Scotland Yard rules out foul play... until the world’s greatest consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, discovers an intriguing link to the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Sherlock Holmes and the Twelve Days of Christmas will be directed by Phillip Breen with Becky Hope-Palmer.