Susie Blake is Miss Marple in a new adaptation by Rachel Wagstaff and Directed by Philip Franks.
York Theatre Royal, 4-8 October
Susie Blake becomes the latest actress to play Agatha Christie’s spinster sleuth Miss Marple in a new adaptation of The Mirror Crack’d at York Theatre Royal from 4-8 October.
Susie Blake becomes the latest actress to play Agatha Christie’s spinster sleuth Miss Marple in a new adaptation of The Mirror Crack’d at York Theatre Royal from 4-8 October.
There’s a strong Yorkshire connection among the cast as both Sophie Ward and Joe Mc Fadden had regular roles in the Yorkshire-set series Heartbeat as did Philip Franks who directs The Mirror Crack’d.
Susie Blake played the actress Margaret Rutherford, who famously played Miss Marple on the big screen, in Philip Meeks’ drama Murder, Margaret and Me – a play that explored the relationship between the actress and Agatha Christie. The production premiered at York Theatre Royal.
Rachel Wagstaff’s fresh adaptation of Agatha Christie’s famous novel aims to bring real emotional depth and psychological insight to a thrilling story of secrets, loss and revenge.
In 1960s England, a wind of change is blowing through the land. It has even reached the sleepy village of St Mary Mead. There’s a new housing estate, which alarms the villagers as much as it intrigues them and, even more unsettling, a rich American film star has bought the manor house. Jane Marple, confined to a chair after an accident, is wondering if life has passed her by. Then there is a shocking murder, and Miss Marple must unravel a web of lies, danger and tragedy.
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side was published in the UK in 1962 and adapted as a feature film, The Mirror Crack’d, in 1980, starring Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis. On television, adaptations of the novel have starred Joan Hickson as Miss Marple in 1992 and Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple in 2011.
Susie Blake is best known for playing the Continuity Announcer in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, as well as her regular roles of Bev Unwin in ITV’s Coronation Street and Hillary Nicholson in BBC’s Mrs Brown’s Boys. She has recently appeared in series one and two of Kate & Koji (ITV), Not Going Out (BBC One) and The Real Marigold Hotel (BBC One). Her films include Fierce Creatures and Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?!. Her theatre credits include Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical (Hall for Cornwall), Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (UK Tour), My Fair Lady (Grange Festival), Grumpy Old Women Live 2 & 3, When We Are Married (West End), Pygmalion (Chichester Festival Theatre), Madame Morrible in Wicked (West End) and Belinda Blair in Noises Off (National Theatre).
Sophie Ward has most recently been seen in the BBC‘s A Very British Scandal opposite Claire Foy and Paul Bettany, BBC/HBO Max’s Troubled Blood – an adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s hugely popular novel of the same name, and This Sceptred Isle, playing the role of Rachel Johnson, opposite Kenneth Branagh’s Boris Johnson. For the past four years, Sophie has hosted the European Diversity Awards and works closely alongside Stonewall.
Joe McFadden’s television credits include Raffaello Di Lucca in Holby City from 2014 to 2020, Alistair in Casualty in 2009, PC Joe Mason in Heartbeat from 2007 to 2009, Jack Marshland in Cranford, Dallas in Sex, Chips & Rock’n’roll, Prentice McHoan in The Crow Road and Gary McDonald in The High Road. Theatre includes Priscilla-Queen Of The Desert, Torch Song Trilogy (Menier Chocolate Factory), She Loves Me (Chichester Festival Theatre), Rainbow Kiss (Royal Court Theatre), How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (Chichester Festival Theatre), Aladdin (Old Vic Theatre) and Rent (Shaftesbury Theatre, London). Joe was the winner of Strictly Come Dancing in 2017.
The Mirror Crack’d is directed by Philip Franks (Barnes’ People, The Haunting of Alice Bowles, The Habit of Art, The Croft and A Cold Supper Behind Harrods) and designed by Adrian Linford, with lighting design by Emma Chapman, sound design by Max Pappenheim and casting by Ellie Collyer-Bristow CDG.
The UK Tour is produced by Alastair Whatley and Tom Hackney for The Original Theatre Company whose previous productions seen at York Theatre Royal include The Habit of Art, Birdsong and A Splinter of Ice.
Website: www.originaltheatre.com
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: @MissMarpleTour / @OriginalTheatre