Witness for the Prosecution

A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

Witness for the Prosecution

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4w, 9m

Agatha Christie

This Agatha Christie classic is a thrilling courtroom drama of murder and passion in three acts.

Image: 2017 London County Hall Production (Tristram Kenton)

Witness for the Prosecution

Request licence
Get the Script
  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 9m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences
Accolades
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.
Keywords
Performing Groups
  • 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

  • Witness for the Prosecution

    Image: 2017 London County Hall Production (Tristram Kenton)

  • Witness for the Prosecution

    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

Available Formats:
Get the Script

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Agatha Christie

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 ...

View full profile

Now Playing

Related