Sherlock star Martin Freeman will take a break from his role as Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes sidekick John Watson to take to the West End stage this year in the production of Richard III.
Freeman will be playing the starring role of King Richard III, a play that will be directed by Jamie Lloyd, who also produced Macbeth last year.
The 42-year-old will be performing at Trafalgar Studios, which is continuing its second season of Trafalgar Transformed, after the success of Macbeth.
Freeman will not be the only Sherlock start to be starring in an upcoming play. Co-star Benedict Cumberbatch has also announced that he will be playing Hamlet in London in 2015.
The 37-year-old will star in the classic tragedy at London's Barbican Theater from August to October 2015. The play will be directed by Sonia Friedman, who is thrilled to be working with the actor.
The two actors' West End schedule is keeping them busy, meaning that the original release date for Sherlock season 4 has been pushed back to 2015 from its original release date of Christmas Day 2014.
Sherlock season 4 is likely to see the return of Moriarty. Spoilers indicate that Janine will also be appearing more often as her relationship with Sherlock Holmes develops, and Mary Morstan will be pregnant with John Watson's baby.
Sherlock is a British television crime drama with a contemporary update to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The show was created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson. Six episodes have been produced so far. The first three episodes aired in 2010, and series 2 aired in 2012. Production for series 3 started in March 2013 before airing on Jan. 1, 2014.
