Theatre 2018

ABOUT THE PLAY

Appointment with Death was first published as a novel in 1938 and featured Hercule Poirot overhearing that famous line at a hotel in Jerusalem. The plot moves to Petra and Poirot (arrogantly?) Intends to solve the case in 24 hours.

In 1945, Christie adapted the story for the stage. The play version keeps the original title, but the identity of the killer is changed.  Gone too is Poirot.  Other characters also have their relationships changed somewhat. 

Appointment with Death has been noted as being one of her most radical re-workings. It was adapted as a 1988 film where the character of Poirot, played by Peter Ustinov, reappears in the story and a couple of characters are, once again, changed or eliminated. The title was used again in the television series starring David Suchet as Poirot.

Does it matter which version one reads or sees, or indeed if the culprit is known? P.G.Wodehouse, in a letter to Christie in 1969, wrote:

“I don’t find it spoils an Agatha Christie one bit ‘knowing the end’, because the characters are so interesting.”