Murder, Margaret and Me by Philip Meeks

Growing up watching Poirot and Morse on the television has led to a fondness for televised murder mysteries on my part, so hearing that Philip Meeks had written a play about Agatha Cristie's relationship with Margaret Rutherford, who famously played Miss Marple, her spinster detective, was quite intriguing. I confess that I don't know the Miss Marple stories well at all, which was quite tricky when reading this play, as I felt I lost quite a few of the jokes and lacked a full understanding of the characters, which a Marple fan might have appreciated more. I'm also not sure many people would know the ins and outs of Rutherford's friendship with Christie, and how much of it bears a resemblance to reality, but the play looks at the secrets and lies behind the two women. Margaret Rutherford never wanted to play the part of Miss Marple, as she felt murder was too sordid. The intrigue in the play is that there is a secret to uncover and Christie finds out the shocking truth about Rutherford's dark past.