May 13th, 14th, 15th 2010
The Graffham Rustics present Agatha Christie’s
A Murder is Announced
From May 13th - 15th the Graffham Rustics’ will be staging their 111th production since their founding. It will be Agatha Christie’s “A Murder is Announced”. The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn, including Miss Marple, are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local paper which reads: 'A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 13th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m' A childish practical joke? Or a hoax intended to scare poor Letitia Blacklock? Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, a crowd begins to gather at Little Paddocks at the appointed time when the lights go out...
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.
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. 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.
A Murder is Announced
Adapted for the stage by Leslie Darbon from the novel by Agatha Christie
at the Empire Hall, Graffham
May 13th, 14th, 15th
8.00pm
Tickets online at www.graffhamrustics.co.uk
Graffham Village Stores
Rosewarne’s Estate Agents, Petworth
Telephone bookings: 01798 344227
Email: tickets@graffhamrsutics.co.uk
Click "Ticket Bookings" in the main menu to book online
Pre-show Dinner at the Foresters
Pre-show dinners at the Foresters Arms, Graffham from 6.00 pm
Special show price £12.50 for two courses. Just show your Graffham Rustics tickets to claim your discount. Call The Foresters on 01798 867202 to book your table