Witness for the Prosecution

A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

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Cast Size

4w, 9m
Duration

More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
Subgenre

Mystery/Thriller
Target Audience

Appropriate for All Audiences

Accolades

Winner! New York Critics Circle Award

Details

Summary

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. Generally regarded as one of Christie’s most accomplished plays, this suspenseful thriller keeps audiences guessing until the very end.

History

Witness for the Prosecution premiered in London at The Winter Garden Theatre on 28 October 1953. Directed by Wallace Douglas, the production featured Derek Blomfield, David Horne and Patricia Jessel. The play premiered on Broadway at Henry Miller’s Theatre on 16 December 1954. Directed by Robert Lewis, the Broadway production featured Gene Lyons and Francis L. Sullivan, with Jessel reprising her performance as Romaine.

Cast Attributes

Reduced Casting (Doubling Possible)

Keywords

Performing Groups

GRETA
CARTER
MR. MAYHEW
LEONARD VOLE
SIR WILFRED ROBARTS
INSPECTOR HEARNE
ROMAINE
MR. JUSTICE WAINWRIGHT
MR. MEYERS, Q.C.
DR. WYATT
JANET MACKENZIE
MR. CLEGG
THE OTHER WOMAN

SUPERNUMERARIES

CLERK OF THE COURT
COURT USHER
FOREMAN
WARDER
WOMAN JUROR
A POLICEMAN
PLAIN-CLOTHES DETECTIVE
ALDERMAN
COURT STENOGRAPHER
THE JUDGE’S CLERK
1ST BARRISTER
2ND BARRISTER
3RD BARRISTER
4TH BARRISTER
5TH BARRISTER
6TH BARRISTER
MALE JUROR

Doubling approved as follows, all other doubling requests can be considered for approval with application:

CARTER – Can double as the Judge
INSPECTOR HEARNE – Can double as Policeman at end of last act
PLAIN CLOTHES DETECTIVE – Can be doubled by Warder
CLERK OF THE COURT – This part can be combined with Court Usher
ALDERMAN – Can be dispensed with
COURT STENOGRAPHER – Can be dispensed with
JUDGE’S CLERK – Can be dispensed with
SIX BARRISTERS – Four can be dispensed with
THREE MEMBERS OF THE JURY – These can be dispensed with and the ‘taking of the oath’ and ‘returning the verdict’ can be done by a voice ‘off’
MR. MYERS, Q.C. – Can double Plain Clothes Detective

Time Period Present Day, 1950s
Setting Sir Wilfred Robarts’ chambers and the Old Bailey at the Central Criminal Court. 1953.
Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes, Period Costumes
Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
Cautions
- Mild Adult Themes

Media

“A good old-fashioned, criminally entertaining Agatha Christie show!” – The Telegraph

“Once more the Christie conjuring trick has come off. Once more we have been led down the garden path. Apart from being a clever puzzle, this is an extremely actable play.” – The Daily Telegraph

“Dame Agatha... managed to write not one, not two, but three of the great stage mysteries: And Then There Were None, Witness for the Prosecution, and The Mousetrap.” – Ira Levin, novelist, playwright

“The play has all the usual advantages of Counsel in conflict, agonised outbreak in the dock, and back-answers from the witness-box. To these are added an ingenious appendix; the jury's verdict is only the beginning of a story that has as many twists as a pigtail.” – Ivor Brown, The Observer

“Christie’s play is easily her most ingenious... The play’s appeal lies not just in its mystery but in its courtroom formality and its reminder that the law itself is a theatrical ritual.” – The Guardian

“Christie’s stories still have the capacity to shock... this Agatha Christie classic still provides twists and gasp-inducing reveals aplenty.” – WhatsOnStage

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

Waiting for Poirot
by Chris Chan
July 29, 2019

Lucy Bailey on Witness for the Prosecution
by Lyn Gardner
November 16, 2018

Photos

Image: 2017 London County Hall Production (Tristram Kenton)

Image: 2017 London County Hall Production (Tristram Kenton)

Music

Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

Minimum Fee: £85 per performance plus VAT when applicable.
This title may have restrictions in place for London based productions. Please submit a licence request to confirm specific availability.

Scripts

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Ticketing

Authors

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and, in many languages, outsold only by the Bible and Shake ...

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Witness for the Prosecution