''Chimneys'' is a play by 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 fictiona ...

and is based upon her own 1925 novel ''

The Secret of Chimneys ''The Secret of Chimneys'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in June 1925 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It introduces the characters ...

''.

Background

The play was written in 1931 and was due to open at the Embassy Theatre in Swiss Cottage in December of that year. One year previously, '' Black Coffee'', Christie's first performed stage play, had opened at the same theatre. As was the law at the time, the play was vetted by the

Lord Chamberlain's Office The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised the ...

and passed for performance. Several press articles referred to the new play but suddenly, and without explanation, the theatre substituted ''Mary Broome'', a four-act comedy from 1912 by Allan Monkhouse, in its place. While not forgotten, it remained unknown other than to a small group of aficionados until December 2001 when John Paul Fischbach, the artistic director of the Vertigo Mystery Theatre in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

, Canada, was looking to re-launch the company after it had been forced to vacate its home in the Calgary Science Centre and was opening in its new home of the Vertigo Theatre Centre. In looking for something special and relatively unknown to celebrate the opening, Fischbach contacted Agatha Christie Limited, who handle the author's rights, and was told by its chairman (and Christie's grandson,

Mathew Prichard 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 fictiona ...

) that the only relatively unknown stage work that could be performed was the 1930s play ''

A Daughter's a Daughter ''A Daughter's a Daughter'' is a novel written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Heinemann on 24 November 1952. Initially unpublished in the US, it was later issued as a paperback by Dell Publishing in September 1963. It was t ...

'' which was performed once in the 1950s but had previously been revised into a 1952 novel published under the nom-de-plume of Mary Westmacott. Fischbach had a copy of the play available and in looking through it, found another manuscript headed: ''Chimneys: A play in three acts by Agatha Christie.'' He again contacted Prichard who said that he had heard of the play but said he had never seen a copy. Prichard contacted the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

who located the typescript (together with notes suggesting

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

for one of the roles) and the Vertigo Mystery Theatre presented the play's world premiere on 16 October 2003 with Mathew Prichard in the audience. The UK premiere took place on 1 June 2006 when it was performed by the

Pitlochry Pitlochry (; gd, Baile Chloichridh or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotla ...

Festival Theatre Company. The US premiere took place on 12 June 2008 as part of the International Mystery Writers' Festival in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

. The Australian premiere was on 6 March 2021 at the

Genesian Theatre The Genesian Theatre is an amateur theatre company based in Sydney, Australia, named in honour of Saint Genesius, patron saint of actors. Formed in 1944 by members of the Sydney Catholic Youth Organisation, it has since evolved into a community ...

."Genesian Theatre
The Secret of Chimneys
, ''Genesian Theatre''. Retrieved 8 March 2021 The play has been published in the collection "Discovering New Mysteries Scripts" by on Stage Press, a division of Samuel French, Inc.

UK premiere – Pitlochry (2006)

Director: John Durnin Cast: *Jonathan Battersby as Tredwell *Jonathan Coote as Lemoine *Jacqueline Dutoit as Old Lady *Robin Harvey Edwards as Lord Caterham *Michele Gallagher as Lady Eileen Brent *Martyn James as The Hon. George Lomax *Jonathan Dryden Taylor as Bill Eversleigh *Darrell Brockis as Anthony Cade *Flora Berkeley as Virginia Revel *Richard Addison as the Stranger *Ronald Simon as Superintendent Battle * Matthew Lloyd Davies as Herbert Banks *Richard Galazka as Boris Anchoukoff

References

External links

''Sunday Herald'' article on discovery and world premiere of the play.

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