Fiddlers Five is a play in 2 acts written by Agatha Christie which was first staged in 1971. Originally given the title Mortal Coil (an expression from Shakespeare's Hamlet), Christie's notes reveal that the project had been considered from as early as 1958 in parallel with other projects.
Christie had originally intended it as a comedy vehicle for Margaret Lockwood and her daughter Julia using a plot based on a family waiting eagerly for an inheritance and desperately trying to avoid death duties. In a letter to Hubert Gregg written in 1970, Christie mentioned that she had written the play but then laid it aside because she heard that Margaret and Julia Lockwood "had a row" and had "parted ways" and she offered to dig up the play again if there was any interest. Christie subsequently rewrote Mortal Coil, renaming it Fiddlers Five. Both Peter Saunders and Hubert Gregg turned the play down but Edmund Cork secured a deal with James Grant Anderson who agreed to stage it on tour. The play opened at the King's Theatre Southsea on 7 Jun 1971.[1]
The play toured the provinces over the course of several months, with good as well as poor reviews. However when Christie wanted the play to progress to the West End, Rosalind Hicks objected strongly partly because she wanted to protect her mother's reputation from being damaged by a poorly written work and partly because the play appeared to condone unethical tax-avoidance activities. Christie retorted angrily to Rosalind's views but Edmund Cork managed to convince Christie to rework the play before taking the next step. The reworked play subsequently became Fiddlers Three.[2]
1971 tour[]
The play was produced by James Grant Anderson and Directed by John Downing.
1971 tour cast[]
- Valerie Dane as Gina
- Margaret Haydn-Davies as Sally Lee
- Johnny Barrs as Sam Fletcher
- Colin Bean as Mr Bogusian
- Graham Squire as Solomon Panhacker
- Lawrence Sewell as Henry Panhacker
- Margaret Guess as air hostess
- Barry Howard as Dr Nolan
- Paul Brennan as waiter
- James Grant Anderson as Mr Truscott
- Barry Howard as Mr Moss
Refrences[]
- ↑ Julius Green, Agatha Christie: A Life in Theatre (London: HarperCollins, 2018), 524-8, ebook edition.
- ↑ Julius Green, Agatha Christie: A Life in Theatre (London: HarperCollins, 2018), 529-33, ebook edition.
External links[]
- Birmingham Hippodrome Heritage.com/Programme - J. Grant Anderson presents Agatha Christie's Fiddlers Five - see this link for an image of the original programme bulletin for the Birmingham part of the tour. (if link is down, try this Archive URL)