Wasp's Nest
Wasp's Nest was a television play broadcast on the BBC Television Service on 18 June 1937. It was adapted from the short story of the same name by crime writer Agatha Christie which had first appeared in the Daily Mail 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 in 1974.
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.[1] It was broadcast live from Alexandra Palace as part of the programme Theatre Parade. 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.
The play is notable for starring Francis L. Sullivan in the part of Hercule Poirot, reprising his portrayal of the character following his success in the stage play Black Coffee in 1930.
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 of 20 June 1937 by "E.H.R" stated that the first performance was "excellently done".[2]
Personnel
Director/Producer: George More O'Ferrall
Cast:
- Francis L. Sullivan
- Wallace Douglas
- D.A. Clarke-Smith
- Antoinette Cellier
References
- ^ Morgan, Janet. Agatha Christie, A Biography. (Page 347) Collins, 1984 ISBN 0-00-216330-6
- ^ Observer. 20 June 1937. Page 14.
External links
- British Film Institute entry for play
- History of Television Plays page with photograph of Sullivan as Poirot in Wasp's Nest
- v
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- The Mysterious Affair at Styles
- The Secret Adversary
- The Murder on the Links
- The Man in the Brown Suit
- The Secret of Chimneys
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
- The Big Four
- The Mystery of the Blue Train
- The Seven Dials Mystery
- The Murder at the Vicarage
- The Sittaford Mystery
- Peril at End House
- Lord Edgware Dies
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
- Three Act Tragedy
- Death in the Clouds
- The A.B.C. Murders
- Murder in Mesopotamia
- Cards on the Table
- Dumb Witness
- Death on the Nile
- Appointment with Death
- Hercule Poirot's Christmas
- Murder Is Easy
- And Then There Were None
- Sad Cypress
- One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
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- N or M?
- The Body in the Library
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- 4.50 from Paddington
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- The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
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Westmacott
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collections
- Poirot Investigates
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- Black Coffee
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- Spider's Web
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television plays
- Wasp's Nest
- The Yellow Iris
- Three Blind Mice
- Butter in a Lordly Dish
- Personal Call
- Agatha Christie Memorial
- Agatha (1979 film)
- Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures (2004 docudrama)
- The Unicorn and the Wasp (2008 TV episode)
- Agatha and the Truth of Murder (2018 film)
- Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar (2019 film)
- Agatha and the Midnight Murders (2020 film)
- See How They Run (2022 film)
- Archie Christie (first husband)
- Max Mallowan (second husband)
- Ashfield, Torquay (home)
- Greenway Estate (home)
- Agatha Award
- Agatha Christie Award (Japan)
- Category