Agatha Christie and Frank Vosper’s play Love from a Stranger has been rebooted in a brand new production directed by Lucy Bailey, whose production of Gaslight at the New Theatre last year was praised by both critics and audiences.
Bailey said of Love from a Stranger, “What attracted me was the dark undercurrents and how relevant it is, how we don’t know people and what erotic addiction and compulsion blinds us in our lives.”
The thriller follows Cecily Harrington who, after winning a large amount of money, yearns for a life of adventure. Enter Bruce Lovell, a handsome and charming stranger who sweeps her off her feet. In a whirlwind romance, she recklessly abandons her job, friends and fiancé to settle in the remote and blissful surroundings of a country cottage. What could possibly go wrong?
It’s a classic set-up from Agatha Christie – the undisputed master of thrillers and murder mysteries, and this new stage adaptation is electric with suspense.
Originally adapted by Frank Vosper, the play Love from a Stranger draws on both Agatha Christie’s short story Philomel Cottage, and her own stage adaptation of the same short story, The Stranger which was unearthed in the Agatha Christie archive. Vosper’s original play opened at the New Theatre in London’s West End in March 1936 where it ran for 149 performances and gained rave reviews before a short run on Broadway that year too.
The cast of this new production produced by Fiery Angel in association with Royal & Derngate, Northampton includes Justin Avoth as Nigel Lawrence, Newport-born Helen Bradbury as Cecily Harrington and Sam Frenchum as Bruce Lovell.
Love from a Stranger plays at Cardiff’s New Theatre next week from 17 – 21 April. For full details and to book tickets, please visit newtheatrecardiff.co.uk or call the Box Office on (029) 2087 8889.