Thursday, April 25

Tag: Peter Saunders

Witness For the Prosecution – London County Hall
London

Witness For the Prosecution – London County Hall

‘Witness For the Prosecution’ started its life as a short story called ‘Traitor Hands’.  Agatha Christie herself thought the story wasn’t anything special, but her theatre producer Peter Saunders, thought he could develop the story into a courtroom drama for the stage.  Christie challenged him to adapt the story into a play and he took her up on it.  She dismissed his attempt but went ahead and wrote her own version which became one of her greatest achievements as a dramatist.  The play received its West End debut at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1953 and the following year opened on Broadway. The setting at the London County Hall could not be bettered for its authenticity.  The courtroom feel, fits perfectly with the play’s location at the Old Bailey, where the...