Tony winner Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Frozen, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) will direct a new production of Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel's Sherlock Holmes that will be developed in London before West End and Broadway bows.

Produced by Antonio Marion, the production, based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, will also have choreography by Akram Khan (Outwitting the Devil, XENOS, Until the Lions). Additional creative team members, casting, and production dates will be announced at a later time.

Sherlock Holmes is presented as a mystery within a mystery. The case offered to Holmes forces him to confront his murky past, but is the unravelling of his childhood just a dangerous diversion?

Ashford says, “When we identified that the setting of our production wasn’t necessarily a place, but perhaps an emotion, with characters driven by their souls and desires, I realized we had a project that demanded being brought to life on the stage. Wagstaff and Abel have created a new, sweeping Sherlock Holmes with modern versions of the classic characters fighting hidden demons in a visceral, emotional, sensual thrill ride that could derail at any moment."

Khan adds, “Ever since I was a teenager growing up in London, I've felt a sense of familiarity and often connected with the struggle and bond to each other that Holmes and Watson inhabit. Their complex and dynamic relationship is what makes great theatre. It's the adventure of a lifetime to work with Rob and these literary legends on a new production which will bring a new generation of audiences to the world of Holmes.”