Appointment with Death (1945 play)

Infobox Play
name = Appointment with Death


image_size =
writer = Agatha Christie
date of premiere = January 29, 1945
country of Origin = United Kingdom
original language = English

"Appointment with Death" is a 1945 play by crime writer Agatha Christie. It is based on her 1938 novel of the same name.

Background

Christie is silent on the writing of both the book and the play in her autobiography. Her biography states that she started writing the play in a burst of enthusiasm after being involved in the preparations for "Murder on the Nile" which was being presented by her actor friend Francis L. Sullivan. The writing was completed by March 1944 and preparations were made towards the end of the year for an opening in Glasgow before transferring to the West End theatre. Christie wrote to her agent, Edmund Cork, the month before that "it really seems quite impossible that the play "can" be ready for Glasgow!" [Morgan, Janet. "Agatha Christie, A Biography". (Page 251) Collins, 1984 ISBN 0-00-216330-6] Nevertheless the play did open there at the King's Theatre on January 29, 1945 ["The Scotsman" January 30, 1945 (Page 6)] and then opened in the West End on March 31, 1945 at the Piccadilly Theatre. The play was not well-received by the critics although box office receipts at the start were better than those for "And Then There Were None" eighteen months earlier. The play was directed by Terence de Marney who had played Philip Lombard in "And Then There Were None". The play closed on May 5 after just 42 performances.

The original West End production is most noticeable for the appearance of Joan Hickson in the role of Miss Pryce. Christie was so taken with her performance that she wrote to Hickson and stated that she hoped she would one day play the character of Miss Marple [Haining, Peter. "Agatha Christie - Murder in Four Acts" (Page 140). 1990. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-273-2] . Hickson was later cast in this role in 1984 in the BBC television series.

Synopsis of Scenes

The time - the present.

ACT I
*The lounge of the King Solomon Hotel, Jerusalem. AfternoonACT II
*Scene 1 - The Travellers' Camp at Petra. Early Afternoon. A week later.
*Scene 2 - The same day. Three hours laterACT III
*Scene 1 - The same. The following morning
*Scene 2 - The same. The same afternoon

Reception

"The Observer" was not overly-impressed in its review of April 8, 1945 when it said, "Mrs. Agatha Christie suns library or lounge-hall. Unhappily, her people, with one exception, are less surprising than their surroundings. As a thriller – how did Mrs. Boynton die? – the play is tepid and far too talkative. But it does give Miss Mary Clare a strong scene or two as the woman of the gimlet gaze, and Miss Carla Lehmann and Mr. Owen Reynolds both help pleasantly." ["The Observer" April 8, 1945 (Page 2)]

"The Guardian"'s issue of April 2, 1945 contained a review by "LH" in which he praised the character of Mrs Boynton but said that, "her death leaves the last act colourless. The business of spotting which of the many interested hands held the fatal hypodermic syringe is commonplace. It is not the flies caught in the web, but the spider in the middle, that is the evening's strength. Apart from thus pulling down the roof-tree in the second interval, Miss Christie has built up her house of mystery with her usual skill." ["The Guardian" April 2, 1945 (Page 6)]

The "Daily Mirror"'s short review of April 3, 1945 by Bernard Buckham said, "Has a strong dash of comedy, which it can do with!" ["Daily Mirror April 3, 1945 (Page 7)]

Credits of London production

Director: Terence de Marney

Cast of London Production: [Christie, Agatha. "The Mousetrap and Other Plays" (Page 80) HarperCollins, 1993. ISBN 0-00-243344-X]

* Mary Clare as Mrs Boynton
* "Deryn Kerby" as Ginerva Boynton, her stepdaughter
* "Ian Lubbock" as Lennox Boynton, her elder stepson
* "Beryl Machin" as Nadine Boynton, Lennox's wife
* "John Glennon" as a Liftboy
* "Percy Walsh" as Alderman Higgs
* "Anthony Dorset" as a Clerk and a Bedouin
* "Janet Burnell" as Lady Westholme
* "Joan Hickson" as Miss Pryce
* "Gerard Hinze" as Dr Gerard
* "Carla Lehmann" as Sarah King
* "Alan Sedgewick" as Jefferson Cope
* "John Wynn" as Raymond Boynton, Lennox's younger brother
* "Harold Berens" as a Dragoman
* "Owen Raynolds" as Colonel Carbery
* "Cherry Herbert" as a Lady visitor
* "Corinne Whitehouse" and "Joseph Blanchard" as Hotel visitors

Publication

The play was first published as a paperback by Samuel French Ltd on June 29, 1956, priced at four 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