Discover the legacy of Christie’s chilling thriller

Agatha Christie and Frank Vosper’s play Love from a Stranger is rediscovered this year in a brand-new touring production, directed by Lucy Bailey who has recently brought Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution to London’s County Hall. Talking about her latest Christie venture, Bailey recalled, “What attracted me was the dark undercurrents and how relevant it is, how we don’t know people and what erotic addiction and compulsion blinds us in our lives.”

Adapted by Frank Vosper, the play Love from a Stranger draws on both Agatha Christie’s short story Philomel Cottage, and her recently discovered own stage adaptation of the same short story, The Stranger. Unearthed in the Agatha Christie archive, The Stranger is a three act play with a typist stamp dated 10 March 1932.

Frank Vosper’s Love from a Stranger opened at the New Theatre in London’s West End on March 31^st, 1936 where it ran for 149 performances and was met with rave reviews including being labelled as ‘first-class entertainment’ by The Daily Mail. It had a short run of 38 performances on Broadway starting on September 21st, 1936 where it opened at the Erlanger Theatre before transferring to the Fulton Theatre on September 29^th.

The thriller follows Cecily Harrington who, after winning a large amount of money, yearns for a life of adventure. Enter Bruce Lovell, a handsome and charming stranger who sweeps her off her feet. In a whirlwind romance, she recklessly abandons her job, friends and fiancé to settle in the remote and blissful surroundings of a country cottage. Will the new Mr and Mrs Lovell get their happily ever after?

Love from a Stranger has been adapted into two films and four TV plays. A British film was released in 1937 using the play's title but was called A Night of Terror in America. It featured Joan Hickson, who would later play Miss Marple between 1984-1992, in a supporting role. Basil Rathbone, who would gain international fame for portraying Sherlock Holmes, played the mysterious husband. Ten years later in 1947 an American remake was released with the title Love From a Stranger, but it was released under the title A Stranger Walked In for its UK distrib­ution. The TV plays were filmed live for the BBC in 1938 and 1947. Another BBC TV movie was released in 1958, and a German-language adaptation was produced in West Germany in 1967.

Love from a Stranger opens in Northampton on 23^rd February 2018, touring the United Kingdom until it’s final stop in Norwich from 17^th July.