Writer: Agatha Christie
Adapter: Rachel Wagstaff
Director: Philip Franks
The village of St Mary Mead is positively agog. Fading movie star Marina Gregg has bought Gossington Hall from the widowed Dolly Bantry to use as a base for her comeback movie. She’s moved her entire entourage 
in and has graciously allowed the hall to be used for a fundraiser for the local St John Ambulance – the president of which, Heather Leigh, is star struck having dined out for years on her story of having met Miss Gregg some years ago. But tragedy strikes at the reception and Mrs Leigh – who, to be fair, was extremely irritating – ends up dead.
And all through this, St Mary Mead’s most famous resident, Miss Marple, is laid up at home with a sprained ankle. But this inconvenience will hardly stop Miss Marple from helping Chief Inspector Craddock in his investigation. And, ultimately, skeletons are removed from closets, red herrings laid to rest, coincidences, well, coincided and (spoiler alert!) the guilty apprehended.
Adaptor Rachel Wagstaff and director Philip Franks have breathed new life into Agatha Christie’s invention. The action is fast moving and much of the story is told in tightly choreographed flashbacks and tableaux as each witness gives their account of events. The whole is fast-moving and slick, aided by Adrian Linford’s ingenious set design that incorporates an enclosed space with mirrored walls that moves and turns on stage to transport us to the next location. It’s all incredibly well done and fun to watch. Christie is sometimes criticised of putting the machinations of her plots ahead of character development; Wagstaff and Franks have ensured this is not a criticism that can be laid at this production’s door. This Jane Marple is fully rounded, sharply intelligent and with a sparky sense of humour. She’s a woman with a past, so we learn just why she has remained a spinster all these years. While some characters are less well-developed, the principals are all fleshed out and believable, warts and all.
Susie Blake brings us Miss Marple and a jolly fine job she makes of it too. There are flashes of humour delivered with perfect comic timing as well as showing us the perceptiveness for which Miss Marple is renowned. The ideal foil for her is the blustering Dolly Bantry (Veronica Roberts). Roberts provides the archetypal image of the landed gentry with her sense of entitlement but with a perhaps unexpected undercurrent of fragile vulnerability. Oliver Boot’s Chief Inspector is similarly three-dimensional as he leads the investigation, grateful to Miss Marple for her insights while simultaneously dealing with events in his own life. Sophie Ward plays Marina Gregg, the film star battling her own demons to try to make a comeback, supported by her husband, Jason Rudd (an underused Joe McFadden) who is directing her comeback venture. Of particular note is David Partridge’s Cyril Leigh, husband of the deceased, who seems to be invisible to all and permanently pushed to the back of the queue at each new twist. One almost expects him to burst into a rendition of Mr Cellophane.
A masterclass in storytelling, this is a most welcome addition to the list of Christie adaptations and well worth catching on its tour.
Runs until: 18 February 2023 and on tour
