Review: Murder, Margaret and Me, York Theatre Royal

Nothing quite worked until he hit on the idea of turning Christie detective and setting her on the case to uncover the dark secret of Margaret Rutherford, who famously played Miss Marple.

It’s a neat idea and the imagined relationship between the often spiky Christie and the eccentric Rutherford – she once arrived on set by pony and trap – is written with huge warmth and wit.

Meeks’ words are well served by Nichola McAuliffe as Christie and Susie Blake who might well be the reincarnation of Rutherford so precise are her mannerisms. While the plot relies on a large helping of artistic licence, as the play peels back the public persona of these two very famous - and superficially very different - women Meeks shows that perhaps they had more in common than what separated them.

Adrina Carroll as The Spinster is the glue which holds this production together. She is Joan Hickson, Julia McKenzie, Geraldine McEwan – a projection of whichever Miss Marple the audience loves best and stands as proof that once a writer publishes their work they relinquish control of their characters. While the story occasionally clunks rather than glides, it’s compensated by some deft touches. From Christie’s growing dislike of her own Hercule Poirot to Rutherford’s substiute family of stuffed animals, this is lovely stuff.

To March 4.