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.

It's a three hander, adapted from a one woman show, but I think you could also make it work for a cast of around 10 if you act out the flashbacks, have some non-speaking parts and don't multirole. The role of the spinster requires piano playing, but as this is a comedy, and clearly exaggerated in style, I'm sure you could mime this part hilariously if you didn't have an actor who could genuinely play, which actually might be more fun. I think the fact it started out as a one woman show might have made it better. I can see how funny someone could make it as a single actor, but that's not very practical for anyone wanting to stage it.

I do feel the play appeals to an older crowd as I think you’d have to explain most of the characters to any young actor playing the parts, as it is firmly set in the past. It could also benefit from being cut a little as it does drag somewhat when reading it. Maybe when it's up on its feet, some of the dialogue would translate better on the stage…

Essentially, it's amusing and wonderfully silly at points and would make a good light-hearted, yet darkly comic production.