Witness for the Prosecution - The Players
        (in order of appearance)

 

Carter (Sir Wilfrid's manservant) ............................................Christoph Futschek

Greta (Sir Wilfrid's secretary) ..................................................Beate Steck

Miss Jeanne Mayhew (a solicitor) ...........................................Manuela Vockenroth

Leonard Vole .............................................................................Markus Stock

Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q. C. (a barrister) .....................................Volker Witte 

Detective Inspector Hearne, CID ............................................Rainer Schlötterer

Detective Sergeant Wolf, CID ..................................................Thomas Krivy

Sabine Vole ...............................................................................Sibylle Friz

Clerk of the Court ....................................................................Sandra Ehlers

Court Usher ..............................................................................Melanie Reynolds

Ms. Myers, Q.C. (a barrister) ...................................................Beatrix Hesse 

Ms. Barton, (a barrister) ..........................................................Claudia Dechant 

Mr. Brogan-Moore (a barrister) ............................................. Ken Wynne 

Mr Justice Wainwright (the judge) ..........................................Lutz Reuter

Court Official .............................................................................Mike Claridge

Dr. Wyatt ...................................................................................Matthias Gressmann

Janet MacKenzie (Miss French's housekeeper) .....................Dörte Bernitt

Miss Clegg (police-laboratory assistant) ................................Britta Vogel

The Other Woman ....................................................................Christine Nawratil

 
 

    The Technical Team
 
 

Make-up ..............................................................................Melanie Reynolds, 
Tini Weidner

Lighting & sound .................................................................Fritz Wirth

Poster design .......................................................................Tini Weidner

Artwork ................................................................................Melanie Reynolds

Wigs ......................................................................................Tini Weidner

Costumes & stagecrew .......................................................The Players

Publicity & correspondence ...............................................Claudia Dechant

Front of house .....................................................................Ken Wynne

 

 Directed by Mike Claridge

 

---

 

 The Play
 

"The play has given me enormous enjoyment in writing,

and I do hope that the repertory companies

who do it will derive the same pleasure from it.

Good luck."

 

Thus Agatha Christie, in her own note to Witness for the Prosecution, which had its stage premiere on 16 December, 1954, and was filmed by Billy Wilder in 1958 with Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich. And indeed, the work was very close to her heart: writing of her play Verdict, she was to comment "the best play I have written with the exception of Witness for the Prosecution". 

Miss Emily French, an elderly lady who is considerably wealthy, has been brutally murdered - but by whom, and why? Outward appearances suggest that it was the work of a robber; closer investigation, however, reveals that nothing is missing, but also that she seems to have been on friendly terms with her murderer. The only people to have seen her on the evening in question were her housekeeper, Janet Mackenzie, and young Leonard Vole, who often visited her and helped her with many things - including her business matters. But both Janet and Leonard have alibis for the time of death ... or seem to. 
In Leonard's case, this is provided by his rather mysterious wife, Sabine - who is acting somewhat strangely; on the other hand, she is a foreigner, as Leonard's barrister, Sir Wilfrid Robarts, is constantly pointing out. So perhaps she doesn't know what this all is about ... 

Who will win the battle of wit(s) in court - the sovereign, sarcastic Sir Wilfried, or the aggressive Ms. Myers? More importantly, who is telling the truth - and what, precisely, is the truth? 

Once again, Agatha Christie lays a trail of confusion, doubt and uncertainty, with so many twists that everyone is left gasping for breath by the final dénouement ... 

 
 

 
 

When Dame Agatha Christie was born, just over one hundred years ago - on 15 September 1890 - no-one could have predicted hat her later literary output would affect millions all over the world, that her work would be published in over 45 languages, that her 78 novels and short stories and 19 plays would sell more than a billion copies - indeed, that she would one day be described as the world's best-selling writer. 

It was perhaps inevitable that her interests would lie in the direction of mystery, intrigue and drama. Her father was a devotee of amateur dramatics, while her temperamental mother was believed to have psychic powers. Her first husband, a judge, gave her not only his surname but also the necessary legal input. During the First World War, her experience as a volunteer nurse taught her much about the use and abuse of poisons, and it was at this time that she wrote her first detective novel. The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, based on some of the Belgian refugees living around her. And yet this beginning was almost the end - the book was rejected repeatedly by all the publishing houses until one reluctantly paid the small sum of 60 pounds for it.  

 
The Music

        Introduction / Gregorio allegri : Miserere
        1st interval / Leos Janacek : Sinfonietta
        2nd interval / Franz Schubert : "Death and the Maiden", 1st. & 2nd. mov'ts
        Act III scene change / Josef Haydn : The Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ, 1.
 
 

The Gratitude

        We would like to thank ...
 

the E.T.A.-Hoffmann Theater, under the direction of Rainer Lewandowski, for offering us the use of the Studiobühne and for loan of props

Professor Jochum and the Lehrstuhl für Englische Literaturwissenschaft for assistance in many spheres

Ingeborg Penalba for exceedingly great patience and invaluable advice

Professor Bus of the Lehrstuhl für Amerikanische Literaturwissenschaft for intermediary work in securing the Studiobühne

Bürgermeister Rudolf Grafberger for permission to use the Studiobühne

Pressestelle der Universität Bamberg for publicity work

Manfred Haaß for video work

Radio Regnitzwelle and Frau Meyer for spreading the good news through the ionosphere

Gösta Rössner for the loan of legal clothing

Isabella Weber for cosmetics appropriations

 

Special thanks to:
 

 Wolfgang Bauschmid for all his willing assistance in organizing the use of the Studiobühne and its facilities, and for putting them at our disposal. It would have been impossible without him!

  

 

 

 

© Another Despicable Production - 1991