USA Reading Lists
Seven Christie Stories for the Stage
We’re delighted to see Agatha Christie productions returning to stages around the world this year, and look forward to sharing news and updates with you as performances resume. To celebrate this milestone, we take a look at some of the best stories that Christie wrote, and adapted, for the stage. If you aren’t able to make it to the theatre, or are still preferring to read at home, we’d recommend exploring some of the following scripts.
After seven decades, this play is still going strong, having reopened in London’s West End in May 2021. It’s full of Christie hallmarks– a collection of colourful characters trapped in an isolated location, hidden secrets, and a tragic event from the past casting a shadow on the present. It’s a quintessential example of a Christie whodunit. We’d always recommend watching this mystery first, but if that’s not feasible, we think reading this play at night with the lights down low would make a great addition to any evening.
And Then There Were None
One of Christie’s most brilliant storylines, brought to the stage. Ten people are brought to an island off the English coast, where they’re all accused of getting away with murder. One by one their sinister actions are revealed, and one by one they receive the ultimate punishment for their crimes. It’s one of the most influential stories ever written, and has delighted hundreds of millions of people for decades. Find out why...
A young man is on trial for his life in this excellent courtroom drama. With many of the characters disguising their true motives, a barrister convinced his client is innocent, and twists and turns with each new witness’s testimony, Witness for the Prosecution is suspenseful, surprisingly funny, and marvellously entertaining. Christie was thrilled with her stage adaptation of the original 1925 short story, and we’re delighted that court is once again in session at London’s County Hall this September. Find out more
Black Coffee
Poirot and Hastings bring their investigations to the stage. A poisoning is potentially connected to international espionage, and a country house is filled with suspicion, strained relationships, and hidden schemes. Can Poirot repair damaged lives and catch a killer? Bien sur! But to do so, he’ll have to put his own life on the line… The only original stage play written by Agatha Christie to feature the Belgian detective, this story can also be discovered in the form of a novelisation, written by Charles Osborne.
A Daughter’s A Daughter
Don’t expect any murders in this one. This play actually became the basis for one of Christie’s Mary Westmacott romantic novels. It is the story of a mother/daughter relationship gone horribly wrong. When an adult daughter takes a violent dislike to her mother’s new boyfriend, she takes steps to break them up, but this leads to a chain reaction of events that starts to unravel both women’s lives. As years of bad choices catch up with them, drastic steps may need to be taken to save them both.
Spider’s Web
In this comic mystery, Clarissa, a woman with a flair for the dramatic, must protect her stepdaughter when an unpleasant man stops by, threatening to break up her happy home. When a murder further interrupts the tranquility of the country house, Clarissa comes up with a plan to save everybody she loves. The problem is that several other members of the household have their own ideas about how to save themselves… and pretty soon the clashing plots are making the police very, very suspicious. Agatha Christie’s sense of humour really comes to light in this one.
Akhnaton
Another unexpected play from Christie, this one perfect for fans of Death Comes as the End. Set in 1350 BC, the young Pharaoh attempts to convince his nation to give up their pagan beliefs and worship only the sun god, Aton. In Akhnaton, Christie recreates an era of Ancient Egyptian history, featuring religious upheaval, political intrigue, love, duty, and idealism. It’s an epic story with timeless themes.
