Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas Tickets at Alexandra Palace Theatre

What Tickets Cost

Tickets start from £15 all-in. On most dates the best seats are around £75, and the Christmas weekends cost the most:

• Previews (24 to 26 November) go up to around £65.
• Most weekday evenings in December and January go up to around £75.
• Weekends in December and the Christmas holidays go up to around £120 for the best seats.

The January weekday evenings are the easiest dates to find good seats at a lower price. Call us on 020 7193 9050 to book a group or to sit together.

Performance Schedule

Evening shows are at 7:30pm and finish about 10pm. Sundays are at 1pm and 5pm, and there are afternoon shows most Saturdays and on several Thursdays.

Over Christmas:

• Thursday 17 December: no performance
• Christmas Eve: 1:30pm only
• Christmas Day and Boxing Day: no performance
• New Year's Eve and New Year's Day: no performance
• Sunday 17 January, 1pm: the last performance

Book Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas Tickets

Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas is at Alexandra Palace Theatre from 24 November 2026 to 17 January 2027, with tickets from £15. All-in: the price you pick is the price you pay.

Pick your date and seats online, or call us on 020 7193 9050 to book by phone.

Best Seats for Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas

Sit near the front of the Stalls, or in the Circle. The theatre says the Stalls floor is flat rather than sloped, so the further back you are, the more you're looking over the heads in front. The Circle is raised, and there's a lift up to it.

Where to Sit for Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas

Alexandra Palace Theatre has two levels: the Stalls and the Circle above.

Stalls

The theatre says the Stalls floor is flat. Near the front you're close to the action with nothing in your way. Further back, the people in front are at the same height as you, so a seat nearer the front is worth paying for, especially with children.

Circle

Raised above the Stalls, so you look down on the stage over everyone's heads. There's a wheelchair-accessible lift up to it.

Who's Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas For?

• Families with children of 10 and over. That's the age the theatre recommends.
• Anyone who likes a murder mystery. It's a proper whodunnit, and you're trying to work out who did it alongside Holmes.
• People who want something festive that isn't a panto. There's a pantomime dame and plenty of silliness, but it's a play with a plot.

Not for you if you've got young children: a panto is a better bet for under-10s. If you're after a straight West End whodunnit, that's The Mousetrap, and for a Christmas comedy where everything goes wrong, try Christmas Carol Goes Wrong.

About Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas

Humphrey Ker and David Reed wrote it. They're two of the comedy group The Penny Dreadfuls, and their Holmes is a comic one: big-headed and brilliant.

It opened at Birmingham Rep last Christmas, where it had seven new songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, their first new work together in decades. London gets the Birmingham production, from the producers who brought Mark Gatiss's A Christmas Carol to Alexandra Palace in earlier years.

What's Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas About?

It's Christmas in Victorian London. Actors in the West End are dying in the middle of their performances, and Scotland Yard says there's nothing suspicious about it. Holmes isn't convinced. Each victim is playing something out of The Twelve Days of Christmas, so he and Dr Watson have to work out who's next before the killer gets there first. A rival detective, Athena Faversham, is on the same case.

Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas Reviews

London's press night is Tuesday 1 December 2026.

What critics said in Birmingham

These reviews are of the 2025 world premiere at Birmingham Rep, where Ker and Reed played Holmes and Watson.

Mark Lawson gave it four stars in the Guardian, calling it a "witty thriller" with "strong narrative from Ker and Reed". Diane Parkes, also with four stars in WhatsOnStage, called it "a real Christmas cracker of a show".

Steve Bennett gave three stars in Chortle and found the plot hard to follow at times, though he thought it was "catnip for those who've grown out of panto". The Stage's critic didn't like it, saying it had "little thrill or wit".

Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas News

The transfer to Alexandra Palace was announced in July 2026, with previews from 24 November and press night on 1 December.

Cast and Creative Team

In Birmingham the two writers played Holmes and Watson themselves. Who plays them in London hasn't been announced yet. Phillip Breen, who directed it in Birmingham, directs again.

Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas Cast

The London cast hasn't been announced yet. In Birmingham, Humphrey Ker played Holmes and David Reed played Watson.

Creative Team

Written by Humphrey Ker and David Reed, and directed by Phillip Breen. Produced by Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions and Heartaches Limited.

In Birmingham the songs were by Tim Rice (lyrics) and Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), and the design was by Mark Bailey.

Getting to Alexandra Palace Theatre

The theatre is inside Alexandra Palace, on the hill above Wood Green in North London (Alexandra Palace Way, N22 7AY). Its entrance is at the East Court end of the building, by the ice rink.

Alexandra Palace station is the closest, about 11 minutes' walk, uphill through the park. Trains run from Moorgate via Highbury & Islington, and from King's Cross.

On the Underground, Wood Green on the Piccadilly line is about 25 minutes' walk, or you can take the W3 bus from there. The W3 runs between Finsbury Park and Northumberland Park via Wood Green and stops at Alexandra Palace Ice Rink, a couple of minutes from the theatre. The 184 stops on Alexandra Avenue, below the palace, about six minutes' walk away.

If you're driving, the East Court car park is the nearest to the theatre. Parking is free for the first 30 minutes, then £2.20 an hour, and you pay at the machines or within 24 hours online. Blue Badge holders park free.

Arrive 15 to 20 minutes before the start, no later, and leave extra time for the hill. The East Court Café, opposite the theatre entrance, is open all day for drinks and food, and you can take drinks from the theatre bar into the auditorium. Hot food isn't allowed inside.

More about the building is in our Alexandra Palace Theatre guide.

Accessible performances

• Captioned performances: Sun 3 Jan 2027, 1:00pm
• Audio described performances: Tue 12 Jan 2027, 7:30pm

Access bookings are handled by the venue's own access team, not by us.

Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas FAQs