A Murder is Announced
by Agatha Christie
“A Murder is Announced” was not written for stage by Agatha Christie but adapted in 1977 by Leslie Darbon, who has adapted many of Christie’s and other authors’ novels for the stage. He is probably best known for his TV scripts for ‘Department S’. His tongue-in-cheek style is apparent in this play and mixes well with Christie’s quirky characters.
The ‘announcement’ is in the local paper, stating time and place of a murder to occur in Miss Blacklock’s early Victorian house. However, the victim is not one of several occupants, temporary or permanent, but an unexpected and unknown visitor. What follows is a classic Christie puzzle, with Miss Marple on hand to provide the final solution in a dramatic confrontation scene just before the final curtain.
This play was also performed in Marly-le-Roi. Above is the one remaining picture, of the curtain call – without a curtain.
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