Maybe not the best time to admit it but, I have not been the greatest fan of Agathia Christie.
My long-held disillusionment with Agatha came from reading her Murder on the Orient Express as a young lad.
I really got into the plot and spent much time attempting to deduce which, of the long list of potential suspects, carried out the dastardly murder by stabbing.
(Here comes the spoiler alert, if you really don't know) …… It turns out they all did it.
While some may see this as inspired plotting, for me it was more a case of What a cop out!
Some years later I got to The Mousetrap, in London's West End, which was memorable, mainly because of its then record as the longest running theatre production.
It ran continuously from 1952, until the pandemic intervened in 2020, and is now 'packing them in again'.
Images : Ellie Kurttz_
Witness for the Prosecution
And so, in 2022, its Christie's Witness for the Prosecution, which is currently playing in the one-time Council Chamber of the old County Hall.
Christie's courtroom drama has already enjoyed a five-year run here and is now booking until April 2023.
And I have to say it's a tremendous evening in the theatre.
The perfect venue for this courtroom drama
To begin with, there could not be a better the venue for a 1950s based courtroom drama.
For, although not a courtroom per-se, the octagonal Council Chamber of the old County Hall it is as near as damnit and what an impressive auditorium.
Even the foyer has the atmosphere of us waiting in a court building for the trial to begin.
And once inside, a more appropriate stage set could not have been conceived.
The original County Hall
The original County Hall, opened in 1922, served as the headquarters of local government for London through the London County Council and later the Greater London Council, until the authority was disbanded by Margaret Thatcher in 1986.
Its Council Chamber provided seating for over 200 council members and four galleries overlooking the Chamber for the public and members of the press.
Today, the audience for Witness for the Prosecution take these seats and, as a result, we are absorbed into the action as the case unfolds.
On trial who is Leonard Vole, accused of murdering a wealthy widow for her money and, despite his protestations of innocent, things do not look too promising for the lad.
The stakes are the highest they could be because the UK still had the death penalty for murder back then.
Did Leonard do it? Or is he facing a huge miscarriage of justice?
The answer unfolds before our eyes and is genuinely gripping.
I can tell you that ….! No I will not.
What I can say is that the performances by this large ensemble cast is of the highest level, as they need to be to make things believable.
This type of play, is beloved of amateur dramatic societies, can so easily creak if not acted with professional skill and gravitas, spiked with gentle humour.
In this production of Witness for the Prosecution, the tension steadily builds as we get to the verdict.
A dramatic production of the highest order, like this, can captivate an audience equally as effectively as any musical.
Ann and I were trying to determine Leonard's guilt or innocence during the interval, and were discussing the ramifications of it on the trip home.
I am pleased to say that this production of Witness for the Prosecution has gone a long way to restoring my faith in Agatha Christie.
London County Hall is located on the South Bank of the River Thames beside the London Eye and the Westminster Bridge, and opposite the Houses of Parliament.
The entrance of Witness for the Prosecution is in Belvedere Road, London SE1 7PB
Useful links
