Witness for the Prosecution - County Hall

Yep think I will be taking the other half to this for his birthday, might even stump up the dollar for the jury seats I think!

Got my tickets. Great setting for this clever play. The BBC version at Christmas last year was superb.

Wonder which ending they'll use?

Come on then, chaps - where are your reviews for this? People here have mentioned seeing it and the thread was sitting there, ready-made and awaiting your comments. But here goes: I saw it tonight and found the first half long and slow and a bit sleep-inducing, but it perked up right before what would have been the curtain (if they had one) and the second half was shorter and livelier. Just as well as I'd been thinking I'd have to give up or risk keeling over onto the person next to me.

So as you'd expect, it's an old-fashioned courtroom drama but with some very good parts, well-played (particularly by Philip Franks and David Yelland), with some surprise revelations for those who don't know or cannot guess the plot.

The County Hall setting definitely adds to the experience, though I can't speak for the gallery seats - which seemed much higher up and steeper - as I was in the stalls. These are only 6 deep and adequately-raked so no issues with sightlines, and even in the back row I felt close to the action. Seat width unusually generous, too, since this isn't actually a theatre, but they are a bit short depth-wise, so though they are padded I found them very uncomfortable. Almost a full house, by the look of it.

I've never seen the film, so am not sure whether, for those who have, this production will live up to it - though obviously I hope so. I could have done with it being less of a play of two halves, with their respective lengths being so uneven, but that's partly a personal issue as I really struggle to stay awake in the evening however good the play, but risked not waiting for a matinee as I had the chance of a cheap ticket via Todaytix. (From what I saw of others' tickets, many of those seemed to have booked via some sort of discounter, e.g. TKTS, but mine was cheaper than the latter's price yesterday).

As did I, a lot of people will probably enjoy the overall experience whatever they think of the play and production, as it was refreshing and interesting to see something presented in a venue new to me and not a conventional theatre - though the space worked well for this purpose.

Average, but worthwhile. The sort of cold clever effective procedural you expect from Agatha Christie, lacking the overblown camp that keeps her watchable on the telly, but with a hugely impressive "set" that feels just like the Old Bailey, and a warm inviting central performance from David Yelland.

Some spoilers follow. . .

Don't be fooled by the 1957 movie or the 2016 Boxing Day BBC adaptation. Those are far superior works, which, while embracing Christie's genius for plotting, are vastly enhanced by the work of other brilliant writers:-

(1) The 1957 movie is a comedy, by Billy Wilder, who molds Christie's decent, but vacant, underwritten barrister, Sir Wilfrid Robarts (played by Charles Laughton), into an irascible self-destructive fury, constantly trying to kill himself with booze and smokes, while he tries to evade the watchful eye of his ever-present nursemaid (played hilariously by Laughton's own wife, Elsa Lanchester). Everything good about the movie comes from Wilder;

(2) The 2016 BBC two-parter is an all-encompassing drama about the dark side of capitalism and the hopeless romanticism that allows us to survive it, which I consider to be the best work of the superb tv writer (And Then there were None, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, the Death of Dirty Den in Eastenders) and sometime playwright, Sarah Phelps. This adaptation, based not on Christie's play, but on an earlier short story by Christie, retains that story's less-sanitised plot elements, and adds to them a frame all of Phelp's own creation, that sees Toby Jones's solicitor as a Winston Smith type romantic, dreaming his way through a hellish capitalist cityscape. This is an immense work, brilliantly conceived, acted, involving and desperately meaningful and moving.

Strip Wilder and Phelps out of these works, and the humanity evaporates away. Christie's play, as is, is cold compelling plotting, and that's all. Luckily, the play has a magnificent setting in London County Hall, which feels just like the Old Bailey, and it also has two notable performances, one of enigmatic charm by Jack McMullen as the Accused, and one that exudes an endearing goodness and decency, by David Yelland.

For the set and for Yelland, I enjoyed myself, but I prefer my Christie laced with the humanity of other better writers.

3 stars for the play.
4 stars for the Wilder movie.
5 stars for the Phelps tv adapation.

Nb: Other than Christie's plotting, another commonality between all versions of this story (and Brexit) is that many English people are depicted as having enormous prejudice against "foreigners."

Maybe I'm easily impressed but it also sounds fortunate for me that I hadn't seen any previous version with which to compare this and could just enjoy the production for itself.

Small detail for others attending: all the booking info and confirmations made a big deal of the need to arrive 45 mins early for security reasons but the bag search was cursory in the extreme and once in the building, there was practically nowhere to sit and wait for the auditorium to open. This may be due to the building not being a theatre or even designed for people to loiter about, but it's not reasonable to insist people arrive so early, when it's clearly both unnecessary and there's nowhere for them to wait.

I could see a few low padded seats dotted about the upper level so I asked staff if it was OK to sit on those and they said no, as these were props (which turned out to be true; I suppose there was nowhere else nearby to store them); otherwise there were just 4 chairs, in 2 pairs. The first staff member told me these were also not for sitting on but the second directed me to them so I sank onto one gratefully.

The first staff member had directed me towards the inevitable bar but it was literally just that, i.e. a serving area with no seating. When I later went towards the auditorium I saw that others had had the same issue and were perched awkwardly on low windowsills and radiators, as if back at school.

There's an excellent long interview/podcast with her on the BBC Writersroom website at the moment that is well worth a listen. She's also responsible for the best episodes of the BBC's Dickensian, the ones that got me hooked despite the appalling scheduling. She's currently working on a series of Christie adaptations for Christmas - it's Ordeal by Innocence this year.

yep, The Mousetrap is a truly empty theatrical experience....

As soon as they announce The Mousetrap is closing I will book to go. Might never happen. 

The BBC2 Front Row is doing an Agatha Christie special tonight, with Sarah Phelps on the guest list. Alas, it's presented by Giles Coren...

Blimey - the BBC have just pulled their flagship Christmas Sarah Phelps Christie adaptation Ordeal by Innocence after allegations about one of the cast.

OO very RVS which one? I found in Row C (North Gallery) or Row D And so I am thinkin if it's worth any. ( well 10 pund and see nothing but be in county hall cause Sherlock i don;t know )