NOT JUST one national treasure but two have combined at a Saddleworth theatre – and the results are expectedly brilliant.
But Murder, Margaret and Me at Delph’s Millgate Arts Centre is about much more than a loving combination to create one of British cinema’s most successful franchises.
For the Miss Marple movies were almost never made as Queen of Crime Agatha Christie did not want Margaret Rutherford to bring her fabled spinster to life.
The feeling was mutual as Margaret was mortified at the prospects of sullying her reputation with something as sordid as murder.
With good reason as after her death in 1972, dark secrets about her family background emerged.

And the cast portrays those feelings perfectly, along with how they were overcome as Margaret and Agatha form an unlikely friendship filled with high tea, brandy snaps and gossip.
Meanwhile, Agatha turns detective herself and is on a mission to unearth the other’s tragic and shocking secret.
In this version of Murder, Margaret and Me by Philip Meeks, three women take to the stage.
Agatha Christie is played by Gill Barham, Margaret Rutherford by Lynda Hoyle and the Spinster by Mel Buchanan, who states she has never acted before – not even at school – which is incredibly difficult to believe!

The show opens showing a clip of the 1961 film Murder She Said, with Margaret Rutherford who reports witnessing a murder through a window.
Yet another example of Saddleworth Players’ ability to incorporate the use of modern digital into their plays with use of the big screen/video clips and photography projection. And an especially poignant moment towards the end of the play which helps capture the essence of the two protagonists and their evolving friendship further displayed the actors’ skill and why the casting is perfect.

A mixture of comedy and mystery, there are plenty of ‘laugh out loud’ lines delivered throughout, to which the audience responded well. Another packed out theatre at Millgate we may add, with remaining tickets selling fast.
Gill Barham is excellent as Agatha Christie – you are absolutely hanging on every word she says.
She is totally believable in the role. She is inquisitive, firm yet caring towards Margaret/Peggy as the play evolves, which is captured beautifully.
Lynda Hoyle’s portrayal of such an iconic character was impressive. The audience was able to see the quirks and eccentricity of the real-life Dame via her delivery.
The spinster plays a significant amount of time on stage as the storyteller weaving between narration and interacting with the two protagonists in different ways – all of which were excellent and very funny.
The staging is a film set with minimal scene changes and I defy you to not walk away from the Millgate humming the tunes played!
If you are an Agatha Christie/Margaret Rutherford fan, this is the play for you. Well done Saddleworth Players, five stars!
- See ‘Murder, Margaret and Me’ at the Millgate Arts Centre in Delph from April 13-20, starting at 7.30pm and sponsored by Tanner Business Centre. Tickets cost £12 (students £6) from TicketSource.
- The Millgate Arts Centre in Delph offers the very best quality theatre, live music, comedy, cabaret, film and pantomime. See more about upcoming productions: millgateartscentre.co.uk
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