Amateur Stage Productions

Agatha Christie’s plays are not only produced by the Agatha Christie Theatre Company and other professional theatres. They have also always been popular with amateur drama groups all over the world. Samuel French Ltd, the famous play agent, publishes the scripts in single editions specially designed for actors and licenses English language amateur stage productions throughout the British Isles and overseas. Samuel French Inc licenses productions in the US and Canada.

The first Christie play French’s published was an adaptation of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd under the title 'Alibi' in 1929. The plays have been regularly performed ever since and nowadays amateur groups present almost 100 different productions every year in the UK alone. And Then There Were None and A Murder is Announced are the most frequently performed titles with The Hollow coming a close third.

There are a wide variety of amateur drama companies of all kinds and this is where many young performers get their first taste of acting. David Suchet himself appeared in school plays and joined the National Youth Theatre before going on to train for the professional theatre!

So if there isn’t a professional production of one of Agatha Christie’s plays near you, the odds are that there’ll be an amateur one not far away.  Check the Events section of our website for details of current productions.

Copies of acting editions along with details of how to obtain a performing licence can be obtained from Samuel French’s website www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk or http://www.samuelfrench.com.