Broadcast - BBC

A thirty minute play for radio written by Agatha Christie

  A young couple, James and Pamela Brent, are having a party. There is a "personal call" for James from a woman who says her name is Fay and that she's waiting at Newton Abbott for him. Brent becomes very angry and says it is a cruel practical joke, but doesn't elaborate to his wife as to the calls meaning. He contacts the operator who says NO personal calls have been put through to that number today! Later he explains that Fay was his first wife who was killed at the railway station of Newton Abbott when she fell under a train. The strange thing about the call being that the voice on the line WAS her voice!
  The following day, there is another personal call for James.....

First BBC production by Ayton Whitaker (BBC broadcast date unavailable - listed in the New Zealand Listener 5 August 1955)
Cast:
Jessie Evans (Fay); James McKechnie (James); Mary Wimbush (Pamela); Edgar Norfolk (the Inspector).

Second BBC production by David H. Godfrey
(BBC broadcast 29 November 1960) (this production issued by the BBC Transcription Service as part of the Thirty Minute Theatre series).
Cast:
Ivan Brandt (James Brent); Babara Lott (Pamela Brent); Vivienne Chatterton (Mrs Lamb); Beatrice Bevan (Fay); Michael Turner (Evan); James Thomason (Mr Enderby); George Hagan (Inspector Narracott).

Broadcast - BBC Radio 4
Monday's. 11:30am - 12:00pm

 Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution
07 January 2002

dramatised by Bill Morrison
directed by Dirk Maggs
produced by Bruce Hyman
An Above the Title Production for BBC Radio 4

  Well-meaning but hopeless Leonard Vole finds himself accused of murder when a rich spinster whom he has befriended is found dead.

Mayherne ..... Anthony Bate
Leonard ..... Hywel Bennett
George ..... Stephen Moore
Romaine ..... Miriam Margolyes
Sir Charles ..... Simon Treves
Miss French ..... Diana Fairfax
Flora ..... Sheila Allen

Agatha Christie's Philomel Cottage
14 January 2002

dramatised by Mike Walker
Music by Nick Russell-Pavier
directed by Jeremy Mortimer

  Alex has an excellent track record in an e-commerce company. Richard, one of her colleagues, is interested in forming a closer relationship with her, but when Terry comes on the scene he doesn't stand a chance. Within a month, Alex and Terry have set up their own company (with Alex's capital) and are living in Philomel Cottage, a roses round the door place near the M4 corridor. But is Terry for real? Alex finds out that he is syphoning money from her account. And then there is the cottage, it certainly has a history, a history which involves unnatural death...

Alex  ..... Lizzie McInnerny
Terry ..... Tom Hollander
Richard ..... Adam Godley
Merlin ..... Struan Rodger

Agatha Christie's The Gate of Baghdad
21 January 2002

dramatised by Mike Stott
directed by Dirk Maggs
produced by Bruce Hyman
An Above the Title Production for BBC Radio 4

  A disparate group of adventurers sets out from Damascus to visit the Gate of Baghdad, once known as the Gate of Death.

Miss Pryce ..... Patricia Routledge
Mr Parker Pyne ..... Richard Griffiths
Dr Loftus ..... Paul Freeman
Gen Poli ..... Saeed Jaffrey
Samuel ..... Martin David
Capt O’Rourke ..... Toby Longworth
Capt Smethurst ..... David Bannerman
Capt Hensley ..... Rupert Degas
Netta ..... Alexis Zegerman

Agatha Christie's Swan Song
28 January 2002

dramatised by Mike Walker
directed by Ned Chaillet

  As if from nowhere, a soprano has emerged to become the Tosca of our day - but like Tosca she carries in her heart a terrible need for revenge. Operatic emotions accompany the Queen of Crime into the 21st Century with Mike Walker's thoroughly modern dramatisation of one of Christie's most passionate tales.

Polina ... Maria Friedman
Beth ... Emily Woof
Breon ... Sylvester Morand
Dominik ... Ray Lonnen

Agatha Christie's Magnolia Blossom
4 February 2002

dramatised by Mike Walker
directed by Ned Chaillet

  A woman's place in Agatha Christie's short story Magnolia Blossom is defiantly not in the luxury home created for her by her financier husband. But in times of trouble a woman's loyalty can challenge the presumption of men - and infidelity can be a small crime compared to others.

  Emilia Fox takes the role of Theo, a woman determined to seek happiness with her husband's rival, Vincent. As they escape London to be together in Paris, news comes of the financial collapse of her husband's business. Putting her own desires aside, Theo returns to discover that Richard has been less than honest with her, and that more than his job is at stake.

Theo ... Emilia Fox
Vincent ... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Richard ... Alex Jennings
TV News Reader ... Ewan Bailey

Agatha Christie's The Hound of Death
11 February 2002

dramatised by Bill Morrison
directed by Dirk Maggs
produced by Bruce Hyman
An Above the Title Production for BBC Radio 4

  1920: an ambitious doctor and a pioneering psychologist try to restore the sanity of a nun apparently traumatised by what she witnessed during the war.

Alice ... Julia McKenzie
Dr Rose ... Michael Kitchen
Tom Hayden ... Simon Treves 
Sister Marie ... Marianne Borgo 
Kitty ... Alexis Zegerman

Broadcast - BBC Radio 4
Monday's. 11:30am - 12:00pm

Agatha Christie’s The £199 Adventure
17 February 2003

dramatised by Mike Stott from Agatha Christie's The Case of the City Clerk
directed by Dirk Maggs
produced by Bruce Hyman
An Above the Title Production for BBC Radio 4

Richard Griffiths, Rebecca Front and Chris Langham star in this updated version of an Agatha Christie story. Bobby Roberts, a middle-aged man stuck in a mid-life rut, is in search of adventure. The ad in The Times reads: "Need help? Ask Parker Pyne." So who better to approach than the great PP himself. And sure enough, Pyne comes up trumps. Bobby is sent on a trip. His mission is to collect a harmless package from a scientist in Milan, and eat plenty of ice cream along the way. Before long, he finds himself caught up in a terrifying murder and with blood all over his ice cream. Parker Pyne ... Richard Griffiths
Marcia Lemon ... Rebecca Front
Bobby Roberts ... Chris Langham

Agatha Christie’s In A Glass Darkly
24 February 2003

dramatised by Mike Walker
directed by Ned Chaillet

  In a mirror, a man witnesses a murderous attack on a young woman – just before he meets the woman and falls in love with her. Agatha Christie’s tale about a man trying to outwit fate still has the power to chill in an age of helicopter warfare, and Mike Walker’s dramatisation relishes testing Christie’s storytelling gifts against the accelerated tensions of the 21st century. With thoroughly modern performances by Neil Dudgeon as an Army helicopter pilot, and Rebecca Egan as the threatened woman he seeks to protect – and marry – the fundamental human characteristics of loyalty and jealousy are as intense as ever.

Agatha Christie’s The Gypsy
3 March 2003

adapted by Dougie Lucie
directed by Dirk Maggs
produced by Bruce Hyman
An Above the Title Production for BBC Radio 4

  Agatha Christie’s The Gypsy is an eerie tale of love and loss. It tells the story of Dickie Carpenter, a war-wounded sailor, who is haunted by terrifying visitations from a ghostly woman. His friend, Robert, attempts to solve the mystery of these visions – and, ultimately, Dickie’s death – only to find himself caught up in the strange happenings and at risk of losing his true love. stars Michael Fenton-Stevens, Hilton McRae and Vivien Heilbron.

 Agatha Christie’s The Dressmaker’s Doll
10 March 2003

dramatised by Mike Walker
directed by Ned Chaillet

  The driving rhythms of London’s fiercely competitive cat-walks may seem a thousand miles away from the cosy cottage murders of Miss Marple, but they provide a perfect environment for the more chilling edge of Agatha Christie’s short stories.
  The Dressmaker’s Doll is a late Agatha Christie tale that is right at home in the cut-throat fashion industry of today. Octavia’s triumphant new designs are the only thing on her mind, but is it safe to ignore the ominous dressmaker ’s doll that appears in her workshop? Juliet Aubrey plays Octavia, with Beth Chalmers as her best friend, Sally.

Music composed and realised by Ben Wallfisch.

Agatha Christie's The Perfect Carer
17 March 2003

dramatised by Mike Walker from The Case of the Perfect Maid
directed by Jeremy Mortimer

  Renting a flat to elderly sisters in a converted dower house should be a simple job for an estate agent, but Kate finds Bernice anything but easy. Then valuables start to disappear.

Bernice ...... Richenda Carey
Carmela & Morag ...... Joanna Monro
Kate ...... Carla Simpson
Tim ...... Richard Firth

Music composed and realised by Ben Wallfisch.

Agatha Christie’s The Last Séance
24 March 2003

adapted by Paul Kember
directed by Dirk Maggs
produced by Bruce Hyman
An Above the Title Production for BBC Radio 4

  Paul Kember’s contemporary adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Last Séance is a highly topical thriller with an all-star cast. Set in England, but against the backdrop of international turmoil, this chilling story focuses on a young woman whose life has been devastated by the war in Afghanistan. Having lost her husband and only child, she turns to an Irish couple who may be able to offer her a chance of salvation: the promise of a miracle. But dark forces are at work,and the price paid for such a miracle may be too much to bear. The Last Séance stars Dervla Kirwan, Adrian Dunbar, Rebecca Saire and Andrew Sachs.