Play by Play: The Theatrical Works of Agatha Christie

Though many fans know Agatha Christie for her impressive canon of mystery and suspense novels, the Queen of Crime also wrote dozens of works for the theatre. Some were murder mysteries, most were dramas, and all had that unmistakable Christie flair. Concord Theatricals offers 31 Agatha Christie stage works for licensing, including some modern adaptations of her famous novels. How many are comedies? How many feature Hercule Poirot? Here’s a playful breakdown of Dame Agatha’s plays – by the numbers.

Contents

CAST SIZE
CATEGORY
COMEDY/DRAMA
LENGTH
ORIGINAL MEDIUM
PREMIERE YEAR
SETTING
SLEUTH/CRIME-SOLVER
TIME PERIOD

CAST SIZE

Cast of 4-9 Actors

A Daughter’s a Daughter by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 5w, 4m)
The love between a mother and daughter turns to jealousy and bitterness in this intense and personal drama. When Ann Prentice falls in love with Richard Caulfield, her daughter, Sarah, takes an instant jealous dislike to him. Resentment slowly corrodes their relationship as each seeks comfort in the formidable and knowing Dame Laura Whitstable, who remarks, “The trouble with sacrifice is that once its made its not over and done with.”

Butter in a Lordly Dish by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Radio Play, Drama / 5w, 3m)
Sir Luke Enderby, eminent prosecution barrister and seasoned womanizer, bites off more than he can chew when the case of a serial killer comes back to haunt him. This tense, one-act thriller features one of Christie’s most gruesome murders.

Love from a Stranger by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 4m)
A tense psychological thriller in two acts taken from Philomel Cottage and The Stranger. After winning a large amount of money in a sweepstakes, Cecily Harrington yearns for a life of adventure. When a charming stranger sweeps her off her feet, she recklessly abandons her job, friends and fiancé to settle in with him. But her newfound “love from a stranger” is not what it seems.

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 5m)
Brimming with intrigue, sophisticated humor and surprising twists, Agatha Christie’s iconic murder mystery – about a group of strangers trapped during a snowstorm – is the world’s most successful and longest-running play.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie and Mark Shanahan (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 4m)
In this thrilling stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s ingenious 1926 novel, the tiny village of King’s Abbot is rocked by scandal when Roger Ackroyd, the wealthiest man in town, is found dead shortly after the apparent suicide of his fiancée.

The Patient by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 4w, 5m)
Mrs. Wingfield has been horribly injured in a fall from her balcony, rendering her unable to communicate. The fall may have been an accident, an attempted suicide or – worse still – a cold-blooded killer bent on murder. The tension builds as relatives gather around her hospital bed, until an ingenious device helps Mrs. Wingfield convey a message that could solve the mystery.

The Rats by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 2w, 2m)
Adulterous lovers, Sandra and David are called to the Torrances’ flat for evening drinks. However, no one is home. What first appears to be a simple mix up of dates turns to something far more sinister when the pair are locked in and, all at once, framed for murder.

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, Sarah Punshon & Johann Hari (US)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4w, 4m)
Christie’s gripping thriller follows the daring and dizzying adventures of Tommy and Tuppence through 1920s London in an inventive new adaptation shot through with fast-paced action, comedy, live music and a dash of romance.

The Stranger by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 2m)
A short , small-cast version of an intimate psychological thriller taken from Philomel Cottage. Enid rejects her fiancé for newcomer Gerald and moves to a remote country cottage with him – where a dark and terrible climax takes place.

The Wasp’s Nest by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 1w, 3m)
This stage adaptation of a classic Christie short story sees Hercule Poirot come between a bitter triangle of lovers to prevent a sinister murder before it takes place.

Yellow Iris by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 2w, 7m)
A distressed phone call from a mystery woman brings Hercule Poirot to the hotel Jardin des Cygnes, where a man commemorates the four-year anniversary of his wife’s sudden death – a death under very suspicious circumstances which Poirot himself witnessed. As everyone present on that fateful night gathers, Poirot must find the killer in their midst – before they strike again.

Cast of 10+ Actors

A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie, adapted by Leslie Darbon (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 7w, 5m)
An announcement in the local paper states the time and place of an imminent murder. When an unknown visitor to Miss Blacklock’s Victorian home dies under the prescribed circumstances, Miss Marple turns up to solve the case.

Afternoon at the Seaside by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 5w, 7m)
A whimsical day by the sea in a British resort. An emerald necklace has been stolen and the Inspector has to investigate an extraordinary mix of characters.

Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express adapted by Ken Ludwig (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 5w, 5m)
Ken Ludwig’s clever adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic boasts all the glamour, intrigue and suspense of Dame Agatha’s celebrated novel, with a healthy dose of humor to quicken the pace. Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – before another victim is taken.

Akhnaton by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 12m)
An enlightened pharaoh falls foul of his conservative court when he attempts to unite the polytheist Egyptians under one god – a course of action that forces factions of both the army and priesthood to turn against him. Regarded as one of Christie’s most extraordinary plays, this epic historical drama is unlike anything else in her canon.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 8m)
Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. As the weather turns and the group is cut off from the mainland, the bloodbath begins and one by one they are brutally murdered in accordance with the lines of a sinister nursery rhyme.

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 7w, 9m)
An assorted group of travelers find themselves thrown together on an expedition to the rose red city of Petra. At the center of the group are Mrs. Boynton and her four stepchildren, who never leave her side. This apparent devotion, however, is a façade. A young English doctor and her colleague, an eminent psychologist, find themselves embroiled in a battle to free the children from the sadistic grasp of their tyrannical mother. This chilling play offers a unique take on the classic murder mystery, with Christie exploring the devastating effects of long-term psychological abuse.

Black Coffee by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 3w, 10m)
This three-act Poirot thriller – a superbly crafted whodunit with endless red herrings, subplots of infamous spies and an astonishingly prophetic storyline about weapons created through “bombarding the atom” – is one of Christie’s most gripping country house murder mysteries.

Fiddlers Three by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 3w, 8m)
The last play written by Agatha Christie, this two-act murder caper is a rare comedy from the Queen of Crime. Trying to get their hands on more than a little inheritance, a group of young people hide the body of a dead tycoon. But what starts as a lark quickly becomes all too serious when they discover that the body is in fact a murder victim.

Go Back for Murder by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 6m)
After a wrongly convicted woman dies in prison, her daughter recreates the scene of the crime to exonerate her memory. Agatha Christie adapted this suspenseful stage play from her novel Five Little Pigs.

Murder on the Nile by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 5w, 8m)
A three-act murder mystery set onboard a river cruiser, adapted from Christie’s Death on the Nile. Blessed with beauty, enormous wealth and a new husband, Kay Ridgeway embarks on a honeymoon voyage down the Nile. Fatal circumstances await, however, when the idyllic surroundings are shattered by a shocking and brutal murder. Under scrutiny is a multitude of memorable passengers, all with a reason to kill.

Personal Call by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Radio Play, Drama / 5w, 9m)
James Brent receives a chilling telephone call seemingly from beyond the grave. His dead wife, Fay, is waiting for him at the very place she met her grisly end. At his new wife’s insistence, they go to meet her as requested and in the process discover a terrifying and disturbing truth.

Spider’s Web by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 3w, 9m)
Agatha Christie’s comedy thriller in three acts delivers a unique blend of suspense and humor in an intricate plot of murder, police, drug addicts, invisible ink, hidden doorways and secret drawers.

The Hollow by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 6w, 6m)
An unhappy game of romantic follow-the-leader explodes into murder one weekend at The Hollow, home of Sir Henry and Lucy Angkatell, arguably Christie’s finest comic grande dame. When Dr. Cristow, the Harley Street lothario, is shot dead, nearly everyone has a motive, but only one of them did the deed.

The Mirror Crack’d by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 7w, 4m)
In 1960s England, in the sleepy village of St Mary Mead, a glamorous American film star has bought the Manor House. Miss Jane Marple, confined to a chair after an accident, wonders if life has passed her by. When a vicious murder occurs, Miss Marple must unravel a web of lies, tragedy and danger.

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Melodrama / 4w, 10m)
In this political murder mystery, the Council Chambers at Chimneys holds a dark and intriguing secret, and someone will stop at nothing to prevent the monarchy being restored in faraway Herzoslovakia. A sinister plot ensues, rife with diamonds, oil concessions, exiled royalty, an elusive master criminal and the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Surete.

The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 7m)
Lost in the fog, a stranger seeks refuge in a nearby house, only to find a man shot dead and his wife standing over him with a smoking gun. As the ghosts of a past wrong begin to emerge, a tangled web of lies reveals family secrets and chilling motives, where the real murderer turns out to be the greatest mystery of all.

Towards Zero by Agatha Christie and & Gerald Verner (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 7m)
Christie’s thrilling murder mystery, set in the drawing room of a clifftop house, is a layered drama of piercing intelligence. When a house party gathers at Gull’s Point, the seaside home of Lady Tressilian, Neville Strange finds himself caught between his old wife, Audrey, and his new flame, Kay. A nail-biting thriller, the play probes the psychology of jealousy in the shadow of a savage and brutal murder.

Towards Zero (Outdoor) by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 5w, 8m)
Agatha Christie’s original stage adaptation of her thrilling clifftop murder mystery is set entirely outdoors, in the drawing room at Gull’s Point.

Verdict by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 6m)
Neither a murder mystery nor a suspense thriller, this profound and thoughtful drama concerns a brilliant professor and his relationships with the women in his life. Delving deeply into psychology and moral philosophy, Christie explores the story of a misguided idealist whose love is so intense that it ultimately becomes destructive and unattainable.

Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 9m)
This Christie classic is a thrilling courtroom drama of murder and passion in three acts. Leonard Vole stands accused of murdering a rich widow. The stakes are high, with shocking witness testimony, impassioned outbursts from the dock and a young man’s fight to escape the hangman’s noose. Widely regarded as one of Christie’s most accomplished plays, this suspenseful thriller keeps audiences guessing until the very end.

COMEDY/DRAMA

Comedies

Afternoon at the Seaside by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 5w, 7m)

Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express adapted by Ken Ludwig (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 5w, 5m)

Black Coffee by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 3w, 10m)

Fiddlers Three by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 3w, 8m)

Spider’s Web by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 3w, 9m)

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, Sarah Punshon & Johann Hari (US)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4w, 4m)

Dramas

A Daughter’s a Daughter by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 5w, 4m)

A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie, adapted by Leslie Darbon (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 7w, 5m)

Akhnaton by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 12m)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 8m)

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 7w, 9m)

Butter in a Lordly Dish by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Radio Play, Drama / 5w, 3m)

Go Back for Murder by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 6m)

Love from a Stranger by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 4m)

Murder on the Nile by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 5w, 8m)

Personal Call by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Radio Play, Drama / 5w, 9m)

The Hollow by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 6w, 6m)

The Mirror Crack’d by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 7w, 4m)

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 5m)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie and Mark Shanahan (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 4m)

The Patient by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 4w, 5m)

The Rats by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 2w, 2m)

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Melodrama / 4w, 10m)

The Stranger by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 2m)

The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 3w, 7m)

The Wasp’s Nest by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 1w, 3m)

Towards Zero by Agatha Christie and & Gerald Verner (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 7m)

Towards Zero (Outdoor) by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 5w, 8m)

Verdict by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 6m)

Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 4w, 9m)

Yellow Iris by Agatha Christie (US/UK)
(Short Play, Drama / 2w, 7m)

LENGTH

Short Plays