Witness for the Prosecution (play)
Witness for the Prosecution is a play adapted by Agatha Christie from her 1925 short story "Traitor's Hands". The play opened in London on 28 October 1953 at the Winter Garden Theatre (although the first performance had been in Nottingham on 28 September). It was produced by Sir Peter Saunders.
For other uses, see Witness for the Prosecution (disambiguation).Witness for the Prosecution
Publication and further adaptations[edit]
The play was first published in the UK in Famous Plays of 1954 by Victor Gollancz Ltd in 1954. The first printing in the US was in the same year in a paperback edition by Samuel French Ltd. French also published the play in the UK in 1957 as French's Acting Edition No 648 priced at five shillings. It was reprinted in hardback for the US market in The Mousetrap and Other Plays by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1978 (ISBN 0-396-07631-9) and in the UK by HarperCollins in 1993 (ISBN 0-00-224344-X).
The very first performance of the story, just pre-dating the debut of Christie's play, was in the form of a live telecast which aired on CBS Television's Lux Video Theatre on 17 September 1953 and which starred Edward G. Robinson (making his television debut), Andrea King, and Tom Drake.[9]
The film version, based on Christie's play, was released on 6 February 1958 and directed by Billy Wilder. Charles Laughton played Sir Wilfred, Marlene Dietrich played Romaine (renamed Christine) and Tyrone Power played Leonard Vole in his second to last role.[10] A character not in the play, Sir Wilfred's nurse, Miss Plimsoll, was created for the film and played by Laughton's wife, Elsa Lanchester.[11] Una O'Connor who had played Janet MacKenzie, the housekeeper of the murder victim, on the New York stage, reprised her role in the film.[12] Laughton and Lanchester were nominated for Academy Awards.[13]
A 1982 adaptation was made for television with Sir Ralph Richardson, Deborah Kerr, Beau Bridges, Donald Pleasence, Dame Wendy Hiller and Diana Rigg.[14] It was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and John Gay from the original screenplay and directed by Alan Gibson.[15]
Theatre Mill - 2014 production[edit]
In April 2014, the first ever site-specific production of the play opened at York Guildhall from York-based company, Theatre Mill, and was fully supported by Agatha Christie Ltd.[16] To celebrate the world premiere, there was a Q&A with the director and cast following the opening night performance.[17] According to reports, it was always Christie's wish to see the play in a site-specific location. The production was staged in the city's council chambers (using most of the building and played in-the-round) and was directed by Samuel Wood.[18] The cast included: David Bowen, Rachel Logan, Andrew Dowbiggin, Adam Elms, and Clive Moore.[16] It received very positive reviews.[19]
2015 revival[edit]
Theatre Mill's production was revived at the York Guildhall from June 2015 before transferring to Leeds Civic Hall, again garnering extremely positive reviews.[20][21] Logan, Elms, and Moore reprised their roles and were joined by Gordon Kane and Niall Costigan.[22]