Ein Bericht – ebenfalls von Norman Home – über den Besuch der Premiere von „Verdict“ (ein weniger bekanntes Theaterstück der Queen of Crime“ im Jahre 1958 in London und über die Aufführung im Jahre 2001 beim Agatha Christie Theatre Festival in Westcliff-on-Sea)
Report on the Agatha Christie Theatre Festival at Westcliff-on-Sea
by Norman Home
MAY l958
A memorable occasion for me at the theatre was on Thursday 22 May l958 when I attended the First Night of „Verdict,“ presented by Peter Saunders at the Strand Theatre, in London. It was also one of the most disappointing I can remember.
In those days, of course, plays did not have public previews. „Verdict“ did not tour before opening in London, so most of us in the audience did not know what to expect. But we expected a lot. This was a new play by Agatha Christie, and the cast included Patricia Jessel, who had given such a landmark performance in the enormously successful WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION in the West End and on Broadway.
As the First Night progressed, however, we were surprised at the slenderness of the plot and lack of suspense; there seemed to be little to hold our interest. We knew all to well what was going to happen.
The middle-aged Professor’s invalid wife would be murdered by the young student, Helen Rollender, who had become infatuated with him; and the Professor’s assistant, Lisa Koletzky, would be suspected of the crime.
The crunch came in a speech towards the end of the play, when Lisa returns home from her appearance in court on the murder charge. She confronts the Professor and delivers the (unfortunate) line, „I’ve had enough“. Soon afterwards she says it again. A short while later, the Professor says „She said she has had enough“. Sections of the First Night audience felt the same way, and started to murmur: „So have we“. They were becoming very restive. It is saddening to recall that at curtain fall, loud booing greeted the cast, and Agatha Christie who was sitting in the box, as she usually did on the First Nights of her plays. The play received poor notices from the critics and closed after a month.
JUNE 2001
The remarkable season of Agatha Christie’s plays at Westcliff-on-Sea this summer gave me the opportunity to see „Verdict“ again. I attended the First Night on 19 June 2001, along with fellow member Christian Kirsch from Germany. I am delighted to say that we enjoyed it immensely, and I feel sure that the audience and critics misjudged it all those years ago. Agatha Christie was surely right to say that it was her best play with the exception of „Witness for the Prosecution“.
The calibre of the acting, the quality of the play itself, and the audience, all contributed to the success of the play at Westcliff. The cast brought the situation and the characters vividly to life ( even with the minimum of scenery and props). The rapport between the Professor (played by Colin Starkey) and his assistant (Elizabeth Elvin) – which is the pivot of the play – was very moving, especially in the closing moments of the play, and contributed a great deal to the strength of the play.
The play is – like all of Agatha’s work – well constructed, and the intellectual content more than makes up for the lack of suspense and the absence of mystery about the identity of the murderer, ingredients we had rather arrogantly presumed would always feature in an Agatha Christie play or crime novel. There is an intriguing moral dilemma at the heart of the play; it is very well argued, and is as relevant today as it was 40 years ago. And to cap it all, there is a surprise at the end of the First Act, which amply demontrates
Agatha Christie’s skill in providing a brilliant curtain. The revelation from the Police Sergeant (I won’t disclose what it is!) brought a loud gasp from the audience. It is strange to recall that the reaction 40 years ago was one of indifference; the audience then just did not engage with the plot at all, and most of them had tired of the play before the end of the First Act.
The audience at Westcliff were, understandably, on the author’s side and wanted to enjoy themselves at a Christie play that hardly any of them had seen before. They were not disappointed. Neither was I.
All in all, a fascinating experience. My thanks to Ray Marsden and everyone else associated with the Festival at Westcliff, for the chance to see „Verdict“ and do my bit to try to set the record straight about its rightful place in the Christie canon.
Norman Home
Einen Kurz-Bericht finden Sie auch in meinem Reisebericht „London 2001„.
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