Verdict (play)

Infobox Play
name = Verdict


image_size =
writer = Agatha Christie
date of premiere = May 22, 1958
country of Origin = United Kingdom
original language = English

"Verdict" is a 1958 play by British mystery writer Agatha Christie. It is an original play, not based on a story or novel.

It was first produced by Peter Saunders and directed by Charles Hickman, with decor by Joan Jefferson Farjeon. The play premiered in the Strand Theatre, London on May 22, 1958. It ran for 250 performances. In 1987 the play ran in the Arena Players Main Stage Theater in East Farmingdale, New York [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD6113BF933A1575AC0A961948260 "New York Times" review of play] ] .

Synopsis

The play tells the story of Karl Hendryk, a brilliant German professor who, with his wife and her cousin, has escaped Nazi persecution. The year is 1938 and the professor is contentedly ensconced in a British university, where he is respected by students and faculty alike. His wife, Anya, an invalid suffering from a progressively debilitating disease, bitterly regrets having been forced to leave her home and her friends and is unhappy with all aspects of her life in England. Her cousin and close friend, Lisa Koletzky, has escaped with them to care for Anya and to manage the professor's home.

Synopsis of scenes

The action of the play passes in the living-room of Professor Hendryk's flat in Bloomsbury. Time: 1938.

ACT I
*Scene 1 - An afternoon in early spring
*Scene 2 - A fortnight later. Afternoon. ACT II
*Scene 1 - Four days later. About midday.
*Scene 2 - Six hours later. Evening.
*Scene 3 - Two month later. Late afternoon.

Cast of London production

*"George Roubicek" played Lester Cole
*"Gretchen Franklin" played Mrs. Roper
*"Patricia Jessel" played Lisa Koletzky
*"Gerard Heinz" played Professor Karl Hendryk
*"Derek Oldham" played Dr. Stoner
*"Viola Keats" played Anya Hendryk
*"Moira Redmond" played Helen Rollander
*"Norman Claridge" played Sir William Rollander
*"Michael Golden" played Detective Inspector Ogden
*"Gerald Sim" played Police Sergeant Pearce

Publication history

The play was first published in 1958 in a paperback edition by Samuel French Ltd as "Acting Edition No. 833" priced at six shillings. It was first published in hardback in "The Mousetrap and Other Plays" by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1993 (ISBN 0-39-607631-9) and in the UK by Harper Collins in 1993 (ISBN 0-00-243344-X).

References