Agatha Christie's 'Witness for the Prosecution' celebrates 100 years

Agatha Christie's drama Witness for the Prosecution marked its 100th anniversary on Friday, and it still thrills audiences with the twists and turns of a murder trial.

First published on January 31, 1925, and initially titled "Traitor Hands," Christie's short story about a young man on trial for the killing of a wealthy widow went on to be adapted for theatre, film, and television.

"It's an incredibly good story. She has found a plot whereby everybody is led down one particular path. Because it's Christie, you're looking for tricks. Then she twists you in the end so that you cannot believe it," theatre producer Eleanor Lloyd said.

Agatha Christie stands on the set of Witness for the Prosecution, in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters on January 31, 2025The Christie Archive Trust/Handout via REUTERS

Lloyd's "Witness for the Prosecution" stage production has been running for the last eight years in London. But rather than running in a theatre, it is staged in London County Hall, a former government building that allows audiences to sit as if they are in a courtroom.

"There's nothing scary about it from an audience point of view. You experience it in a different setting," explained Lloyd.

From the moment the audience hand in their tickets, they are transported to the 1950s courtroom.

Adapted by Christie herself, the first stage production opened in 1953. A few years later, in 1957, it was made into a film directed by Billy Wilder, starring Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, and Tyrone Power. The BBC made it into a TV series in 2016.

Speaking of its lasting appeal, Lloyd said it taps into some timeless themes about "humans judging other humans."

Actors take part in a performance of Witness for the Prosecution at London County Hall, in London, Britain, 2024, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on January 31, 2025Witness for the Prosecution/Oliver Rosser/Feast Creative/Handout via REUTERS

"Christie is very good at thinking about our prejudices and assumptions as humans and who we warm to and don't. And she plays into all those stereotypes and then surprises us," she said.

Born in the south of England in 1890, Christie went on to become the world’s best-selling fiction writer. Her crime novels have sold an estimated 2 billion copies in 44 languages.

Christie died in 1976, but her work is still going strong.

"I don't think she's going anywhere. I think she's more popular than ever," Lloyd said.

The current stage production of "Witness for the Prosecution" is booked until Sept. 28, 2025.