Agatha Christie at...Greenway

Greenway

While in Devon, what Agatha Christie trail would be without a trip to Greenway? Agatha Christie called it "the loveliest place in the world". As always, the Queen of Crime was spot on. It's a beautiful Georgian building in stunning grounds, set back from the River Dart.

I remember the first time I caught a glimpse of Greenway, it was before it was open to the public. We took a boat trip along the River Dart and could see the imposing white Georgian house through the trees. It looked so far away, mysterious and secluded. A place I never thought we'd be able to visit.

However, the National Trust bought the house in about 2000 and set about restoring and renovating it - and what an amazing job they've done. It has been renovated in the style of the 1950s and contains a lot of the items and artifacts that Agatha and her second husband, Max, collected over their years together (I believe these were kindly donated by Agatha's grandson, Mathew Prichard).

You can tell Greenway was close to Agatha's heart as it features in quite a few of her novels.

***The following contains spoilers***

In Five Little Pigs, Greenway features as Alderbury - the house of Amyas Crale, and it is in the grounds of Alderbury that Amyas drinks his fatal glass of beer.

In Dead Man's Folly, Greenway appears as Nasse House. The grounds are the setting of a murder hunt, designed by Ariadne Oliver, the boat house is where Marlene Tucker is found strangled and Poirot navigates his way down the array of paths to the quay, where uses the bell to summon the ferry. The 2014 television adaptation of Dead Man's Folly was filmed here at Greenway, and sees David Suchet, as Poirot, wandering around the house and grounds.

Greenway also makes an appearance in Ordeal by Innocence, as Sunny Point House, and once again the bell on the quay is used to summon the ferry to Drymouth (Dartmouth).

Links to Greenway are not only limited to the house and gardens, but to the contents too. In the Hall there is a brass studded Baghdad chest that features in two of Christie's short stories The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest and The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.

As part of the Agatha Christie Festival, we'll be making a few visits to Greenway. Hopefully we won't find any dead bodies in the Baghdad Chest...

Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution, Leeds Civic Hall

We went to see Agatha Christie's play, Witness for the Prosecution in Leeds last night - and it was amazing!

It was set in a real courtroom, in the chambers of Leeds Civic Hall. I don't want to give too much away, but Leonard Vole had been accused of murdering an elderly lady, called Miss Emily French, with whom he had spending a lot of time. His alibi depends on the testimony of his wife, Romaine Vole - the Witness for the Prosecution.

From the moment we arrived, we felt like part of the play. We were met at the door by a Police Officer who asked if we had been summoned for the case against Leonard Vole. He also checked we did not have any sharp objects before allowing us into the building.

When we entered into the courthouse we were greeted by a lady checking tickets - she was also in character, and dressed accordingly for the era (~1950s).

We walked through the beautiful corridors of Leeds Civic Hall and along the way were characters and props, making it feel really authentic. The characters interacted with us - we were accosted by a man from the press (Percy Ellund), who asked us our opinion on the upcoming case. He was dressed the part and had an old-fashioned camera. The acting was great, and we hadn't even sat down yet!

Then, we were summoned to court!

We had seats in the Jury Box, and had a great view of the judge and the witnesses as they gave evidence. The prosecutor and defence lawyers directed their address to us. Some of the characters were sat in the audience - the defence lawyer, Sir Wilfred Robartes, Q.C. was next to me!

It was very realistic and atmospheric - we were even asked to stand when the judge, Mr Justice Wainwright, entered and left the court.

The acting was outstanding, and it felt like we were in a real courtroom, as part of a trial. The story, of course, was excellent. Agatha Christie keeps you guessing to the end, with the usual twists and red herrings thrown in. I've heard a version of the radio play before, but the performance last night was much better, and really gripping.

All in all it was a lovely evening, watching a great performance in a beautiful setting, which I would recommend to anyone!

The performance is in Leeds until 30 August and you can book tickets here.