Who will be Graffham Rustic’s Miss Marple?
May be all the qualification you need to play super sleuth Miss Marple is living in a pretty Sussex Downland area, not unlike many of the settings of Agatha Christie’s novels. Or perhaps you have a more blood thirsty streak in you and fancy the role of cold blooded murderer! There are plenty of parts, small and large, for men, for women, for younger and older adults in The Graffham Rustic’s next play to be staged in May 2010, Agatha Christie’s
A Murder is Announced
This will be the first murder/mystery the Rustics have presented for many, many years and only the second time they have tackled the work of the Queen of crime writers. This particular play was chosen because the plot keeps the audience guessing right to the end and also involves a large adult cast. The play is a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, death and deceit. When The Chipping-Cleghorn Gazette reports a murder before it takes place, the village inspector, neighbours, and gossips all gather to watch the crime unfurl. So does Miss Marple, who may be forced to place her own life on the line in order to solve the puzzle.
A Murder Is Announced, published as a novel in 1950, has long been considered a classic of detective fiction. It is surprising, then, that the book was not adapted for the stage until a year after Agatha Christie’s death. It was, however, the first Miss Marple mystery to be adapted for television. A Murder Is Announced was presented live in the USA in NBC’s Television Goodyear Playhouse on December 30, 1956; it featured Gracie Fields, Jessica Tandy, and Roger Moore. It was remade for the BBC in 1985 with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple and Petworth local resident, the late Ursula Howells in one of the lead roles. The stage play was first presented on at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, and subsequently at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, where it opened on September 21, 1977.
Everyone is welcome to the read through and auditions as follows:
Read Through January 8th at 7.45 PM (cancelled due to weather conditions)
Auditions January 12th and 15th at 7.45PM
As of Sunday 10th Jan, we plan to go ahead on 12th and 15th January - we undertsand most main routes into Graffham are now clear of snow - although some minor lanes are still covered in snow and ice
All at the Empire Hall, Graffham
For more information email info@graffhamrustics.co.uk