''Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar'' is a 2019 British

alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

television

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

about crime writer

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fiction ...

becoming embroiled in a real-life murder case during a trip to an archaeological dig in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

following her divorce. The film premiered on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2019. Filming took place in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and was directed by

Sam Yates Sam Yates (born August 1983) is a British director. Yates was born in Stockport and attended Poynton High School. He was selected as one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow, named a rising star in The Observer, and featured in GQ Magazin ...

. ''Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar'' premiered in the United States on PBS May 18, 2021.

Plot

In 1928, following her divorce and struggling with fame and success, Agatha Christie travels to

and is caught in a web of murder, intrigue and love. Two years following the public drama caused by her 11-day disappearance, Agatha arrives in Baghdad seeking culture and peace. Instead she finds an attractive young archaeologist with a bullet wound, and the famous crime writer must unravel a series of mysterious murders.

Cast

Lyndsey Marshal Lyndsey Marshal (born 16 June 1978) is an English actress best known for her performance in '' The Hours'', and as the recurring character Cleopatra on HBO's ''Rome'', and as Lady Sarah Hill in BBC period drama ''Garrow's Law''. Biography Mars ...

Jonah Hauer-King Jonah Andre Hauer-King (born 30 May 1995) is an English actor. He has starred in the films '' The Last Photograph'' (2017) and ''A Dog's Way Home'' (2019), and appeared in the television miniseries ''Howards End'' (2017), ''Little Women'' (2017 ...

as Max Mallowan *

Stanley Townsend Stanley Townsend (born August 1961) is an Irish actor. Personal life Townsend was born and brought up in Dublin. After attending Wesley College, Dublin, he studied mathematics and civil engineering at Trinity College. While there he joined the ...

as Sir Constance Bernard *

Jack Deam Jack Deam (born Ian Deam; 1972) is an English actor. He used his grandfather's name for his stage name. His most notable performances have been as the pyromaniac Marty Fisher, who has Tourette syndrome, in Channel 4's comedy drama series, '' ...

Leonard Woolley Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his Excavation (archaeology), excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavat ...

Katherine Kingsley Katherine Kingsley (born 24 December 1981) is an English actress. Early life Born and raised in Cambridge and schooled at Parkside Community College and Long Road Sixth Form College, Kingsley moved to London to study with the English National Oper ...

Katharine Woolley Katharine Elizabeth, Lady Woolley (née Menke; June 1888 – 8 November 1945) was a British military nurse and archaeologist who worked principally at the Mesopotamian site of Ur. She was married to archaeologist Leonard Woolley. Personal li ...

*Waj Ali as Ezekiel *

Rory Fleck Byrne Rory Fleck Byrne (born 1988) is an Irish actor and composer, known for ''Vampire Academy'', ''Harlots'', '' The Foreigner'' and '' This Is Going to Hurt''. Early life Rory Fleck Byrne was born in England but moved to Ireland when he was nine y ...

as Marmaduke *

Bronagh Waugh Bronagh Waugh (born 6 October 1982) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She played Cheryl Brady in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2009 to 2013. At the 2010 British Soap Awards, Waugh was nominated for awards for Best Newcomer, B ...

as Lucy Bernard *

Crystal Clarke Crystal Clarke (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Tina Argyll in the BBC and Amazon Prime miniseries ''Ordeal by Innocence (TV series), Ordeal by Innocence'' (2018) and Georgiana Lambe in the ITV (TV network), ITV a ...

as Pearl Theroux * Liran Nathan as Faisal * Walles Hamonde as Ahkam * Waleed Elgadi as Doctor El-Memar * Daniel Gosling as Hugo

Production

The film was created by husband and wife team Tom and Emily Dalton who also created ''

Agatha and the Truth of Murder ''Agatha and the Truth of Murder'' is a 2018 British alternative history drama film about crime writer Agatha Christie becoming embroiled in a real-life murder case during her 11-day disappearance in 1926. Written by Tom Dalton, it depicts Christie ...

'' which was Channel 5's most watched festive programme of 2018. This was shot in Malta, back-to-back with '' Agatha and the Midnight Murders''.

Reception

Described as "quite a treat" by Michael Hogan in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' wrote that "what it lacked in unexpected twists and depth it made up for in nostalgic comfort-blanketry and good, clean murder".

References

External links

*
''Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar''
at

Darlow Smithson Productions Darlow may refer to: * Darlow (surname) *Darlow, Kansas Darlow is an unincorporated community in Lincoln Township, Reno County, Kansas, United States. It is located several miles west of Yoder along Red Rock Road. History Darlow was a station on ...

{{Agatha Christie, state=collapsed Cultural depictions of Agatha Christie 2019 television films Films shot in Malta 2019 films 2019 drama films 2010s British films British drama television films