''Wasp's Nest'' was a

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

broadcast on the

BBC Television Service BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

on 18 June 1937. It was adapted from the short story of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

by crime writer

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

which had first appeared in the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'' on 20 November 1928 and first appeared in book form in the US collection '' Double Sin and Other Stories'' in 1961. It first appeared in a UK collection in ''

Poirot's Early Cases ''Poirot's Early Cases'' is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in September 1974.''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions'' Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie ...

'' in 1974.

Plot

Live broadcast

The play is unique in that it is the only instance of Christie adapting one of her works for television, a medium she later came to dislike. It was broadcast

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

from

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

as part of the programme ''

Theatre Parade ''Theatre Parade'' was a British television programme, one of the world's very first regular series, broadcast by the BBC Television Service from its inception during 1936 until 1938. The programme presented excerpts from popular London theatre p ...

''. The broadcast took place at 3.35 pm and lasted for twenty-five minutes. It was then repeated the same evening at 9.40 pm and lasted for twenty minutes. ''Theatre Parade'' usually showcased successful stage shows of the time but in this instance presented an original work. The play was only broadcast in the London area as this was the only part of the UK that could receive television transmissions at this time. Neither transmissions were recorded for future viewing as television recording equipment had not been invented at this point in time.

Depiction of Hercule Poirot

The play is notable for starring Francis L. Sullivan in the part of

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...

, reprising his portrayal of the character following his success in the stage play '' Black Coffee'' in 1930.

Publication of the script

The script of the play is published by Samuel French, separately, and in the collection ''Poirot Double Bill'' with another short play "Yellow Iris".

Critical response

A three-line review in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' of 20 June 1937 by "E.H.R" stated that the first performance was "excellently done".Observer. 20 June 1937. Page 14.

Personnel

Director/Producer:

George More O'Ferrall Edward George More O'Ferrall (4 July 1907 – 18 March 1982) was a British film and television producer and director, and actor. Biography More O'Ferrall was born in Bristol, England, to an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family. He was educated at B ...

Cast: * Francis L. Sullivan *

Wallace Douglas Wallace Stuart Finlayson (15 August 1911 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – 8 August 1990 Coldwaltham, West Sussex, England), known as Wallace Douglas, was a Canadian producer, director and actor. The son of Robert Barnett Finlayson and Emiline ...

D.A. Clarke-Smith Douglas Alexander Clarke-Smith (2 August 188812 March 1959), professionally known as D. A. Clarke-Smith or sometimes Douglas A. Clarke-Smith was a British actor. In a stage career lasting from 1913 to 1954, with interruptions to fight in both Wo ...

Antoinette Cellier Antoinette Cellier, Lady Seton (23 June 1913 – 18 January 1981) was an English film and theatre actress. She appeared in fifteen feature films in the 1930s and 1940s. She was married to soldier and actor Sir Bruce Lovat Seton, 11th Baronet o ...

References

External links

British Film Institute entry for play
{{Hercule Poirot 1937 television plays 1937 in British television Plays by Agatha Christie Lost BBC episodes Hercule Poirot