“Murder, Margaret and Me” by Tilted Wig Productions
Derby Theatre

"Murder, Margaret and Me" is the story of an unlikely friendship between famed actress Margaret Rutherford and world-renowned Queen of Crime Agatha Christie. In the early sixties, these two national treasures were the creative force behind one of British cinema’s most successful franchises. But the Miss Marple movies were almost never made….

Both these much-loved icons were shrouded in mystery; Margaret held a dark family secret, and Agatha mysteriously went missing for ten days, which has continued to baffled conspiracy theorists. Through exploring their tumultuous relationship, the play seeks to pay homage to these two great women and their hidden histories.

Lin Blakley, who most people will know of late from Eastenders, plays Agatha Christie, and we see the various sides of Agatha, dependent on to whom she is dealing with at the time. The dry comedy she puts into her stories are reflected in her character, and her ever active mind is also shown as she picks up tips for future books.

Sarah Parks plays Margaret Rutherford and completely captures the very being of Rutherford and all of her physical attributes and mannerisms as well as the distinctive voice.

With both actors, we watch Christie and Rutherford, not the actors, such is the talent shown by both Lin and Susan. Their naturalness and grace, and respect for the characters are obvious in this play.

Gilly Tompkins plays The Spinster who narrates the piece, but I think that she is also that archetypal Miss Marple; the image that Agatha had in mind when creating the character.

I also loved the section just before Act two started when Christie and Rutherford appeared before the curtains for what seemed to be a chit chat section, all part of the play of course but came across as just one of those sections when actors just "pop out" for an informal bit of banter.

Written by Phillip Meeks, he has used an archive of original letters from Christie to authenticate the story. And it's the content within the letters that is shown in the script of this play that makes it so special. The little things that could only be found out through the closeness and covertness of Christie's and Rutherford's personal documents.

Directed by Damian Cruden, you can tell that this was a labour of love, which is what makes this play such a delight to watch and learn from.

Set design is by Dawn Allsopp, and what a work of art this set is. The set is moved around by a pair of scene shifters dressed as removal men, very similar to the ones that you may have seen in older movies as they set up and take down scenery, and that all added to the wonderful 1960's feel of the piece.Dawn was also responsible for the costumes, synonymous with the characters in their heyday.

Lighting Design by Richard G Jones and the Sound Design by Yvonne Gilbert also direct your eyes and ears to what they want you to focus on and listen to. Simple I know but both are so unobtrusive that you wouldn't really notice because of the naturalness of their design.

A delightful play for lovers of all things Christie; an absolute must see piece of theatre. Nottingham theatres have missed out on this magical piece of theatre, which is a shame.

If you do come and see this play, I really hope that you have bought one of the brilliant programmes for the play. It's more of a book, paperback size, the sort you'd buy for a play script. It is packed with everything you need to know, not only about the play, the touring production, the actors, the characters, the works of Christie and Rutherford, all wrapped up in a beautifully distressed look about it. One of my favourite programmes I've received this year.And it only costs £3.00.

“Murder, Margaret and Me” is at the Derby Theatre until Saturday 16 November