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A review by nicrtay
Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
5.0
"Civilization has much to answer for."
I'll start off by saying that I was already a fan of the source material when I came across the stage adaptation of Appointment with Death.
Despite the complete submissiveness of the Boynton family, this story hosted some of my favourite Christie characters, particularly in the form of Sarah King. Other than Elinor Carlisle, Sarah King may be my favourite female Christie character. I've mentioned in past reviews that I don't believe Christie engenders realistic female characters compared to their male counterparts, however one of Christie's most polished archetypes is the self-spoken, no-nonsense woman who, at the same time, would do anything to protect the man she loves (Sad Cypress, Witness to the Prosecution, The Sittaford Mystery, etc.).
Then there's Alderman Higgs who adds this adorable side comedy to the story like some modern day Toby Belch. Even though the adaptation obviously condensed his role in the novel, he was still an incredibly enjoyable addition to the group.
And, because it's Christie, the ending of the stage play (including the culprit) has been completely changed. However, unlike the stage adaptation of And Then There Were None (God help me), I actually found the ending of the abridged story (play) far more interesting than the original ending. Though I suppose the altered ending made like half the characters in the story completely unnecessary.
Speaking of unnecessary, is it bad that it took me until Act III to realise that Poirot was a total no-show in this play? I wonder what scared him off.
Probably the mules.
Reread 2021: I'm so into the contrast between Sarah's strong-willed personality and Ray's obsessively subservient demeanor. It makes for such good reading.
Also I love how Lennox is always described as 'holding a book upside down pretending to read'. If there was ever a stage direction that symbolized a character perfectly it would be that one.
I'll start off by saying that I was already a fan of the source material when I came across the stage adaptation of Appointment with Death.
Despite the complete submissiveness of the Boynton family, this story hosted some of my favourite Christie characters, particularly in the form of Sarah King. Other than Elinor Carlisle, Sarah King may be my favourite female Christie character. I've mentioned in past reviews that I don't believe Christie engenders realistic female characters compared to their male counterparts, however one of Christie's most polished archetypes is the self-spoken, no-nonsense woman who, at the same time, would do anything to protect the man she loves (Sad Cypress, Witness to the Prosecution, The Sittaford Mystery, etc.).
Then there's Alderman Higgs who adds this adorable side comedy to the story like some modern day Toby Belch. Even though the adaptation obviously condensed his role in the novel, he was still an incredibly enjoyable addition to the group.
And, because it's Christie, the ending of the stage play (including the culprit) has been completely changed. However, unlike the stage adaptation of And Then There Were None (God help me), I actually found the ending of the abridged story (play) far more interesting than the original ending. Though I suppose the altered ending made like half the characters in the story completely unnecessary.
Speaking of unnecessary, is it bad that it took me until Act III to realise that Poirot was a total no-show in this play? I wonder what scared him off.
Probably the mules.
Reread 2021: I'm so into the contrast between Sarah's strong-willed personality and Ray's obsessively subservient demeanor. It makes for such good reading.
Also I love how Lennox is always described as 'holding a book upside down pretending to read'. If there was ever a stage direction that symbolized a character perfectly it would be that one.