Agatha Christie (1890 – 1976)
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The Mousetrap the Articles in This Study Guide Are Not Meant to Mirror Or Interpret Any Productions at the Utah Shakespeare Festival
Insights A Study Guide to the Utah Shakespeare Festival The Mousetrap The articles in this study guide are not meant to mirror or interpret any productions at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. They are meant, instead, to be an educational jumping-off point to understanding and enjoying the plays (in any production at any theatre) a bit more thoroughly. Therefore the stories of the plays and the interpretative articles (and even characters, at times) may differ dramatically from what is ultimately produced on the Festival’s stages. Insights is published by the Utah Shakespeare Festival, 351 West Center Street; Cedar City, UT 84720. Bruce C. Lee, communications director and editor; Phil Hermansen, art director. Copyright © 2011, Utah Shakespeare Festival. Please feel free to download and print Insights, as long as you do not remove any identifying mark of the Utah Shakespeare Festival. For more information about Festival education programs: Utah Shakespeare Festival 351 West Center Street Cedar City, Utah 84720 435-586-7880 www.bard.org. Cover photo: Mark Light-Orr in The Mousetrap, 2002. The ContentsMousetrap Information on the Play Background Information 4 Synopsis 6 Characters 7 About the Playwright 8 Scholarly Articles on the Play Activities 9 Examining The Mousetrap 11 Utah Shakespeare Festival 3 351 West Center Street • Cedar City, Utah 84720 • 435-586-7880 Background Information By Christine Frezza From Insights, 2007 By 1947, Agatha Christie was a much-published writer of mysteries and an occasional play- wright, with two productions to her credit. Ira Levin, in his introduction to The Mousetrap and Other Plays, said that Christie felt other playwrights who adapted her novels made the mistake of “following the books too closely” (Agatha Christie, 1978, p. -
Poirot Reading List
Suggested Reading order for Christie’s Poirot novels and short story collections The most important point to note is – make sure you read Curtain last. Other points to note are: 1. Lord Edgware Dies should be read before After the Funeral 2. Five Little Pigs should be read before Elephants Can Remember 3. Cat Among the Pigeons should be read before Hallowe’en Party 4. Mrs McGinty’s Dead should be read before Hallowe’en Party and Elephants Can Remember 5. Murder on the Orient Express should be read before Murder in Mesopotamia 6. Three Act Tragedy should be read before Hercule Poirot’s Christmas Otherwise, it’s possible to read the Poirot books in any order – but we suggest the following: The Mysterious Affair at Styles 1920 Murder on the Links 1923 Christmas Adventure (short story) 1923 Poirot Investigates (short stories) 1924 Poirot's Early Cases (short stories) 1974 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 1926 The Big Four 1927 The Mystery of the Blue Train 1928 Black Coffee (play novelisation by Charles Osborne) 1997 Peril at End House 1932 The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest (short story) 1932 (original) replaced by The Mystery of the Spanish Chest expanded version (1960) Second Gong (short story) 1932 Lord Edgware Dies 1933 http://www.agathachristie.com Murder on the Orient Express 1934 Three Act Tragedy 1935 Death in the Clouds 1935 The ABC Murders 1936 Murder in Mesopotamia 1936 Four Poirot short stories appear in non-Poirot short story collections: Second Gong (1932) and Yellow Iris (1937) appear in Cards on the Table 1936 Problem at Pollensa Bay and other stories (1991) in the UK and in Yellow Iris (short story) 1937 Witness for the Prosecution and other stories (1948) and Murder in the Mews (four novellas) 1937 The Regatta Mystery and other stories (1939) respectively in the US. -
AGATHA CHRISTIE Inscribed Books from the Library of Charlotte (‘Carlo’) Fisher Her Secretary, Amanuensis, and Close Personal Friend
AGATHA CHRISTIE Inscribed books from the library of Charlotte (‘Carlo’) Fisher her secretary, amanuensis, and close personal friend Peter Harrington london Peter Harrington london Charlotte (“Carlo”) Fisher (1895–1976) AGATHA CHRISTIE’S SECRETARY, to prepare to start dictating a story. I was so nervous AMANUENSIS, AND CLOSE PERSONAL FRIEND about it that I put it off from day to day. Finally the time came: Charlotte and I sat down opposite each In 1924 Agatha Christie, 34 years old, launched on her other, she with her notebook and pencil. I stared career as a writer and newly installed in a large flat in unhappily at the mantelpiece, and began uttering a a house, Scotswood, at Sunningdale, about 30 miles few tentative sentences. They sounded dreadful. I from London, advertised for someone who would could not say more than a word without hesitating be a supervisor for Christie’s five-year-old daughter and stopping. Nothing I said sounded natural. We Rosalind and, in the mornings while Rosalind was at persisted for an hour. Long afterwards Carlo told me school, a secretary and typist. Believing the Scots to that she herself had been dreading the moment when be good disciplinarians, she added to the advertise- literary work should begin. Although she had taken ment the words “Scottish preferred”. a shorthand-typing course she had never had much practise in it, and indeed had tried to refresh her skills The advertisement was answered by Miss Charlotte by taking down sermons.” Williamina Tait Fisher, the daughter of a highly respected Church of Scotland minister. -
Agatha Christie - Third Girl
Agatha Christie - Third Girl CHAPTER ONE HERCULE POIROT was sitting at the breakfast table. At his right hand was a steaming cup of chocolate. He had always had a sweet tooth. To accompany the chocolate was a brioche. It went agreeably with chocolate. He nodded his approval. This was from the fourth shop he had tried. It was a Danish patisserie but infinitely superior to the so-called French one near by. That had been nothing less than a fraud. He was satisfied gastronomically. His stomach was at peace. His mind also was at peace, perhaps somewhat too much so. He had finished his Magnum Opus, an analysis of great writers of detective fiction. He had dared to speak scathingly of Edgar Alien Poe, he had complained of the lack of method or order in the romantic outpourings of Wilkie Collins, had lauded to the skies two American authors who were practically unknown, and had in various other ways given honour where honour was due and sternly withheld it where he considered it was not. He had seen the volume through the press, had looked upon the results and, apart from a really incredible number of printer's errors, pronounced that it was good. He had enjoyed this literary achievement and enjoyed the vast amount of reading he had had to do, had enjoyed snorting with disgust as he flung a book across the floor (though always remembering to rise, pick it up and dispose of it tidily in the waste-paper basket) and had enjoyed appreciatively nodding his head on the rare occasions when such approval was justified. -
{Dоwnlоаd/Rеаd PDF Bооk} Poirot: Murder in Mesopotamia
POIROT: MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Agatha Christie | 352 pages | 05 Nov 2001 | HarperCollins Publishers | 9780007113804 | English | London, United Kingdom Poirot: Murder in Mesopotamia PDF Book However, although the explanations is as original and ingenious as we have come to expect of Agatha Christie, I do not consider Murder in Mesopotamia to be one of her best novels. It is related to the murder. Daily Mirror. Poor Louise: recipient of some very nasty notes and some very nasty looks and, worst of all, a very nasty blow to the head. Kaye mystery. But whoever could kill such a fascinating woman? Photo Gallery. Leidner was something out of the ordinary in that line. Here is a photo of her at a dig at Nippur: As such it is not surprising that we find a murder mystery occurring near a dig somewhere in Iraq. Then she is killed sorry for that smallish spoiler and Poirot just happens to be passing through to lend a hand with the investigation, with the assistance of Nurse Amy Leidner, with her storied speculations veering of course into fiction. Murder in Mesopotamia is an enjoyable between the world wars "closed room" mystery that Agatha Christie does so well. The other thread I did go some way to unravel. This time Agatha Christie takes the readers to Iraq and archaeology and excavation. Official Sites. So, who is the real murderer? Details if other :. According to the latest numbering of the series this is book 14 and Murder on the Orient Express is book 10 - the chronology is messed up for these two. -
Lady Mallowan, Obe Professor Dj Wiseman, Obe, D.Lit
LADY MALLOW AN PROFESSOR D. J. WISEMAN LADY MALLOWAN, O.B.E. PROFESSOR D.J. WISEMAN, O.B.E., D.LIT., F.B.A. 1988 has seen two birthdays. Lady Mallowan, our President, has completed her eightieth, and our Chairman, Professor Wiseman, his seventieth year. Both have served the School tirelessly in various capacities for forty of its fifty-six years, a record that only Sir Max Mallowan surpassed. Barbara Parker, as she then was, became the first Secretary/Librarian and, as such, the first and only resident officer of the School in Baghdad for twelve years. Her first instruction from the Director, Max Mallowan, was to go and build a dig house at Nimrud, which he had chosen as the School's main site for excavation. She built the house and maintained it in good order for many years to come, a home to which those who worked at Nimrud look back with fond, if sometimes fantastic, memories. Barbara worked at Nimrud both as a photographer and an epigraphist, taking also an especial interest in the seals. Her photographs, taken and developed under primitive conditions, provided excellent illustrations for Mallowan's Nimrud reports, including Nimrud and its Remains. As an Assyriologist she has published a considerable series of economic texts, illuminating their interpretation by her own knowledge of modern rural society and economy which, until the onset of mechanisation, had changed little in four thousand years. In the 1950's Barbara's main contribution to the School's, as opposed to the Nimrud expedition's, welfare was her inimitable running of our house in Baghdad. -
Chapter One Introduction
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background of The Study Agatha Christie is a British author in the 20th century who is famous for her novels. She is also famous for her plays, such as The Mousetrap, and short stories, such as The Submarine Plans and The Second Gong. She is considered to be one of the most famous murder mystery writers. She is clever at making stories and unforgettable detective characters. Agatha Christie has made a great contribution to the world of literature, especially in the genre of detective story. Most of her works have been filmed and the stories of her two famous detective characters, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, have been made into a serial in television and radio versions. Miss Marple looks like an ordinary old woman. She does not like a detective at all, yet with her ability to observe human nature, she can solve a murder case with her shrewd observation. Hercule Poirot is a Belgian man who has interesting physical appearance and also eccentric manners. His first appearance is in Christie’s first book, Mysterious Affair at Styles. It is difficult for someone to argue with him for he has strong character. His famous tool in identifying murder case is called “grey cells.” He always finishes each case with a dramatic denouement. 1 Maranatha Christian University In this thesis, I would like to analyse one of the many world famous Christie’s books, Towards Zero. This novel, which is a whodunit story, was written in 1944. Whodunit story is “a novel or drama concerning a crime (usually a murder) in which a detective follows clues to determine the perpetrator” (“who- dun-it”). -
The Mousetrap
Taylor University Pillars at Taylor University Taylor Theatre Playbills Campus Events 10-20-1976 The ouM setrap Follow this and additional works at: https://pillars.taylor.edu/playbills Part of the Acting Commons, Dance Commons, Higher Education Commons, Playwriting Commons, and the Theatre History Commons Recommended Citation "The ousM etrap" (1976). Taylor Theatre Playbills. 261. https://pillars.taylor.edu/playbills/261 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Campus Events at Pillars at Taylor University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Taylor Theatre Playbills by an authorized administrator of Pillars at Taylor University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. University Theatre Fl-esents A3ntho Chrisfie's Little Theatre Octob er 70,?1,?2,+?3 ) t176 AGATHA CHRISTIE was born in Torquay, England. Her THE MOUSETRAP early schooling was highly informal; the young Agatha was tutored by her motier who encouraged her imaginative offspring to pursue her natrual talents for Director: Jessie Rousselow piano and voice. Later, at the prodding of a neighbor, Designer: Ollie Hubbard Eden Philpott, the successful novelist, Miss Christie tried her hand at writing and found-her natural and lasting THE CAST niche in life. (in the order of their appearnce) Miss Christie married twice: first to Colonel Archibald Christie of the British Air Corps; and later to Max MollieRalston..... ....KimMontgomery. Mallowan, a noted archeologist. Miss Christie accompanied her husband on his periodic expeditions - Giles Ralston . Jay Cunningham and one such trip gave her the inspiration and background for her mystery novel MURDER lN Christopherwren ... BillWallace MESOPOTAMIA. - Agatha Christie was unquestionably one of the most Mrs.Boyle ...KathyTurner prolific as well as one of the most successful mystery writers of all time. -
Centrespread
14 centrespread centrespread 15 SEPTEMBER 13-19, 2015 SEPTEMBER 13-19, 2015 Meet the Sleuths Unlike Arthur Conan Doyle, who is synonymous with Sherlock Holmes, Christie The Life & Times of created more than one ace detective for her novels, short stories and plays: Dame Agatha Christie September 15, 1890: Born Agatha Mary ers takes them through four novels and Hercule Poirot: A moustache waxed to perfec- Clarissa Miller to an American father and one short story collection and their stories tion that he is inordinately proud of, supreme British mother in Torquay, Devon, now the confidence in his “little grey cells” and a devo- were reportedly the ones Christie enjoyed site of the Agatha Christie festival tion to “order and method” are among the best- writing the most known traits of Monsieur Poirot. A retired December 1914: Following a whirlwind member of the Belgian detective force, Poirot Harley Quinn: This mysterious fig- courtship, Agatha marries Archie Christie, a makes his debut in The Mysterious Affair At ure who seems to appear and disappear qualified aviator Styles and went on to feature in 33 novels and suddenly is supposed to be Christie’s Murder, 54 short stories. When Curtain: Poirot’s Last favourite character. He operates through 1916: Partly because of a bet with her sister, Case was published in 1974, The New York the more worldly Mr Satterthwaite, who he partly to dispel the boredom of her work at a Times gave the detective a front-page obituary, guides in the investigations. Christie dedi- dispensary during World War I, she writes her the only fictional character to get that honour cated the collection of short stories The debut detective novel, she Mysterious Mr Quinn to the character The Mysterious Affair At Miss Marple: A fussy old lady in the village himself Styles of St Mary Mead, Jane Marple is the anti the- sis of Hercule Poirot but is as well known. -
Black Coffee Character Breakdown
Black Coffee Character Breakdown All characters (except those noted below) Speak with an educated British accent. Think Downton Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Emma Thompson for examples. Dr. Carelli-speaks with an Italian accent that does not have to be that authentic. Inspector Japp is decidedly working class. His accent is more rough, less polished. Think the servants of Downton Abbey or the Northerners of Game of Thrones. Think more Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Catherine Tate, and Sean Bean for examples. Miss Treadwell (female, late 20’s-60’s) She is the faithful servant, but at the same time knows all “the dirty laundry” of her employers. Sir Claud Amory (male, 50’s plus) He is the irascible Lord of the manor, who has no affection for his relatives and is devoted solely to his scientific discoveries. Caroline Amory (female, 50’s plus) Claud’s dotty younger, maiden sister who never stops talking. She is very conservative, innocent, and prone to not quite getting the full picture of what goes on around her. She has no idea that half of what she says is funny and often inappropriate. Richard Amory (male, early 30’s-mid 40’s) He is the only son of Claud Amory. He’d rather pursue a military career then be under his father’s thumb. He’s not stupid, but he’s not the scientific genius that his father is. Newly married, he is very much in love with his wife Lucia who he married after a brief whirlwind courtship. Lucia Amory (female, mid 20’s-mid 30’s) She is Richard’s half- English and half-Italian wife who was largely raised throughout the European continent. -
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARY SOURCES BY AGATHA CHRISTIE Christie, Agatha. An Autobiography [1977] (London: Harper, 2011). ———. The Big Four (London: Collins, 1927). ———. The Body in the Library [1942] (New York, London, Toronto: Harper, 2011). ———. “The Capture of Cerberus” [1941], in Agatha Christie ’ s Secret Notebooks : Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making , ed. by John Curran (London: HarperCollins, 2009), 425-52. ———. “The Capture of Cerberus” [1947], in Herucle Poirot : The Complete Short Stories (London: HarperCollins, 1999), 831-51. ———. Cards on the Table [1936] (Glasgow: Fontana, 1969). ———. Cards on the Table : Marple Tie-In (London: HarperCollins, 2005). ———. A Caribbean Mystery (London: Book Club, 1964). ———. “The Case of the Discontented Soldier” [1934], in Parker Pyne Investigates (New York: William Morrow, 2012), 17-38. ———. “The Case of the Rich Woman” [1934], in Parker Pyne Investigates (New York: William Morrow, 2012), 87-104. ———. “The Cornish Mystery” [1923], in Poirot ’ s Early Cases (London: Harper, 2002), 57-80. ———. Crooked House [1949] (Glasgow: Fontana, 1990). ———. Curtain : Poirot ’ s Last Case [1975] (London: Harper, 2002). ———. Dead Man ’ s Folly [1956] (London: Collins, 1956). ———. Death on the Nile [1937] (New York, London, Toronto: Harper, 2011). © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 271 J.C. Bernthal, Queering Agatha Christie, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33533-9 272 BIBLIOGRAPHY ———. “The Double Clue” [1923], in Hercule Poirot : The Complete Short Stories (London: HarperCollins, 1999), 282-90. ———. Dumb Witness (London: Book Club, 1937). ———. Elephants Can Remember [1972] (London: HarperCollins, 2002). ———. Evil under the Sun [1941] (Glasgow, London: Fontana, 1988). ———. The Grand Tour (London: HarperCollins, 2012). ———. Hallowe ’ en Party [1969] (London: HarperCollins, 1994). -
The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
April 26 – May 22, 2016 on the One America Mainstage STUDY GUIDE edited by Richard J Roberts with contributions by Janet Allen, Courtney Sale Robert M. Koharchik, Alison Heryer, Michelle Habeck, David Dabbon Indiana Repertory Theatre 140 West Washington Street • Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 Janet Allen, Executive Artistic Director Suzanne Sweeney, Managing Director www.irtlive.com SEASON SPONSOR 2015-2016 ASSOCIATE LEAD SPONSOR SPONSOR YOUTH AUDIENCE & PRODUCTION PARTNER FAMILY SERIES SPONSOR MATINEE PROGRAMS SPONSOR The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie Welcome to the classic Agatha Christie mystery thriller: a houseful of strangers trapped by a blizzard and stalked by an unknown murderer. The Mousetrap is the world’s longest running stage play, celebrating its 64th year in 2016. Part drawing room comedy and part murder mystery, this timeless chiller is a double-barreled whodunit full of twists and surprises. Student Matinees at 10:00 A.M. on April 28, May 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12 Estimated length: 2 hours, 15 minutes, with one intermission Recommended for grades 7-12 due to mild language Themes & Topics Development of Genre Deceit and Disguise Gender and Conformity Xenophobia or Fear of the Other Logic Puzzles Contents Director’s Note 3 Executive Artistic Director’s Note 4 Designer Notes 6 Author Agatha Christie 8 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction 11 Agatha Christie’s Style 12 Other Detective Fiction 14 Academic Standards Alignment Guide 16 Pre-Show Activities 17 Discussion Questions 18 Activities 19 Writing Prompts 20 Resources 21 Glossary 23 Going to the Theatre 29 Education Sales Randy Pease • 317-916-4842 cover art by Kyle Ragsdale [email protected] Ann Marie Elliott • 317-916-4841 [email protected] Outreach Programs Milicent Wright • 317-916-4843 [email protected] Secrets by Courtney Sale, director What draws us in to the murder mystery? There is something primal yet modern about the circumstances and the settings of Agatha Christie’s stories.