World-famous Agatha Christie story to premier in Torquay

The European premiere of a newly adapted version of Agatha Christie's Death on  the Nile is being played in her home town of Torquay.

Following sell-out tours of And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile reunites celebrated director Lucy Bailey (Witness for the Prosecution), writer Ken Ludwig and producers Fiery Angel for the European premiere of the new adaptation of the globally celebrated  Christie story on a nationwide tour. 

On board a luxurious cruise under the heat of the Egyptian sun, a couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder.  As secrets that have been buried in the sands of time finally resurface, can the world-famous detective, Hercule Poirot, untangle the web of lies and solve another crime?

James Prichard, of Agatha Christie Limited, said:  “With a hugely successful tour of Murder on the Orient Express still delighting UK audiences, we are thrilled to be partnering once again with Lucy Bailey, Ken Ludwig and the team at Fiery Angel to bring another of my great grandmother’s most celebrated stories to UK stages.”

This is Lucy’s fifth Agatha Christie play since staging Witness for the Prosecution, still performing at London’s County Hall, and her second Poirot. 

She said: “I’m delighted to be following Murder on The Orient Express with another of Poirot’s most famous cases, Death on the Nile.

“ It takes place in the midsummer heat of Egypt and is one of Agatha Christie’s most passion-driven thrillers. A group of holiday makers attracted by the ancient beauty of the Nile find themselves in a living nightmare of jealousy and revenge. Trapped on board a pleasure steamer and adrift on the Nile, it’s a voyage into the heart of darkness.”

Death on the Nile is among  Christie’s best-loved and most famous works and is a sweeping mystery of love, jealously and betrayal.  She drew inspiration for this novel from her travels in Egypt, picking up geographically and historical details throughout her time there.

When she adapted the story into a play, she dropped Hercule Poirot from the script as she felt that he drew too much attention on stage. 

The title was changed to Hidden Horizons and the play opened at Dundee Repertory Theatre. When the play moved to London’s West End in 1946, the title was changed to Murder on the Nile. Later on in the same year the show opened on Broadway and in 1950 a live television broadcast of the US play took place as part of the Kraft Television Theatre.

Apparently,  Christie toyed with the idea of originally naming the stage adaptation Moon on the Nile.

The casting for this latest stage interpretation of the famous work is yet to be announced. 

The play runs at the Princess Theatre from Tuesday, November 18 to Saturday, November 22. Tickets are now on sale online via atgtickets.com/Torquay 

Born in Torquay in 1890,  Christie became, and remains, the best-selling novelist of all time. She was an extraordinary woman with a remarkable mind.

She wrote her first mystery novel in 1916 when she was just 26, following a bet with her sister. It was published four years later as The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

Her prolific writing career spanned five decades, with 66 crime novels, six non-crime novels and 150 short stories. Her work also includes The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and the genre-defining And Then There Were None.

She created Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, two of the most famous detectives of all time.

She wrote over 25 plays, of which the most famous, The Mousetrap, is the longest running play in the world, having debuted in 1952.

With more than two billion books published, she is outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her works have been widely adapted.