Agatha Christie's Plays Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Mousetrap

"The Mousetrap" was originally written in 1947 to celebrate Queen Mary's 80th birthday. At Queen Mary's request, Agatha Christie created a 30-minute radio play for the BBC which she called "Three Blind Mice". She later expanded the play and renamed it "The Mousetrap".

Answer: She felt the script-writers stuck too closely to her original novels

Believe it or not, Agatha Christie felt that script-writers were too reluctant to simplify the plots by dispensing with minor characters and some false clues, causing the plays to become "confusing and overladen". She thought this was a mistake, although she appreciated the implicit compliment.

In her autobiography she said "It seemed to me that the adaptations of my books to the stage failed mainly because they stuck far too closely to the original book ... What was wanted was simplification."

Answer: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was the first of Agatha Christie's novels to be made into a play. Renamed "Alibi", it was adapted by Michael Morton in 1928. Agatha Christie was not happy with the end product.

Answer: Black Coffee

In 1929, Agatha Christie wrote her first play, "Black Coffee". In 1998, it was the first of her plays to be adapted as a novel by another author, Charles Osborne - with the approval of Agatha Christie Limited (who control the copyright of her works) and Mathew Prichard (Christie's grandson). Mathew Prichard wrote the foreword to this novel, stating that his grandmother wrote the play because of her dissatisfaction with "Alibi".

Answer: Witness for the Prosecution

In her autobiography, Agatha Christie acknowledged "Witness for the Prosecution" as her favourite play. She also said "I can safely say that that was the only first night I have enjoyed. First nights are usually misery ...".

Answer: Margaret Lockwood

Agatha Christie wrote the comedy-thriller, "Spider's Web", at Margaret Lockwood's request. Christie said she really enjoyed writing the part of Clarissa for her. She also included a part for Lockwood's 14-year-old daughter Julia. Margaret Rutherford, Marlene Dietrich and Sheila Sim have all had roles in Agatha Christie films and plays.

Answer: Five Little Pigs

"Five Little Pigs" was the original title. The American title was "Murder in Retrospect". One major difference between the book and the play is that Agatha Christie eliminated Hercule Poirot as the detective and replaced him with Justin Fogg, a young lawyer.

Answer: Agatha Christie replaced Hercule Poirot as the major character

Poirot appears in the novels but not in the corresponding plays. Just as Arthur Conan Doyle tired of Sherlock Holmes, so did Agatha Christie tire of Hercule Poirot. She included him in the first play she wrote, "Black Coffee", but subsequently decided to dispense with him in future plays.

Answer: Appointment with Death

Agatha Christie wrote the novel "Appointment with Death" in 1938 and the play in 1945. Agatha Christie changed the identity of the killer for the play. The character of Mrs Boynton was originally written for the novel "Death on the Nile".

Answer: Ten Little Indians

The novel was originally titled "Ten Little Niggers" and was based on an old English rhyme. It was republished as "Ten Little Indians" and "And Then There Were None" because the original title was considered offensive in America, although it was not viewed this way in England in 1939 when Christie first wrote it. "Ten Little Indians" is an American rhyme, but the two rhymes are not the same, which has caused considerable confusion for readers. "And Then There Were None" is the last line of the rhyme.