Miss Marple, The Queen And Margaret Thatcher Take Centre Stage At Salisbury Playhouse

Miss Marple, The Queen and Margaret Thatcher will all take centre stage in Salisbury Playhouse's Spring 2019 season.

In a co-production with Wales Millennium Centre and working closely with the Agatha Christie Estate, Salisbury Playhouse will stage Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd (15 February-9 March) which reimagines a traditional whodunit as an inventively staged, richly psychological drama, adapted by Rachel Wagstaff (Birdsong) and directed by Melly Still (The Lovely Bones).

The cast for The Mirror Crack'd includes Susie Blake (Mrs Brown's Boys, Coronation Street) as Miss Marple and Simon Shepherd (best known for Peak Practice) alongside Julia Hills (2Point4 Children) and Suzanna Hamilton (Out of Africa).

Moira Buffini's Handbagged (4-20 April) is a brilliantly witty and sharply satirical play about The Queen's relationship with Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. Co-produced with York Theatre Royal and the Oldham Coliseum and directed by Wiltshire Creative Associate Director Jo Newman, the play also features "appearances" by Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Denis Thatcher and others.

Salisbury Playhouse will present some of the best touring productions in 2019 including the first visit to Salisbury by the genuinely ground-breaking BalletBoyz (12-13 March), Miles Jupp in The Life I Lead (14-16 March) celebrating the remarkable life of actor David Tomlinson, best known for playing George Banks in Mary Poppins;

Out of Joint's The Remains of the Day (30 April-11 May) adapted for the stage by Salisbury's Barney Norris; and Stephen Tompkinson in Willie Russell's Educating Rita (17-22 June).

The eighth annual Fest West (14 February - 2 March) - a celebration of theatre, dance, circus, film and more from across the South West - this year includes circus artist Hazel Lam, Plymouth's Narwhal Ensemble and multi award-winning choreographer James Wilton.

The Salberg at Salisbury Playhouse will see the welcome return of the outrageous Living Spit with a scien-trific new show Giants of Science, the stranger-than-fiction true life story of Jonny Benjamin in The Stranger on the Bridge and a musical adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button from Jethro Compton in association with Hall for Cornwall.

Wiltshire Creative's Stage 65 Youth Theatre will perform Timberlake Wertenbaker's version of The Love of the Nightingale and, in a separate project, Stage 65 will create their own piece of new theatre with world-class theatre company Graeae.

Tickets to the Spring 2019 season go on sale to Members on 12 January and on general sale on 18 January. Tickets can be booked by calling Ticket Sales on 01722 320333 or by visiting www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk.

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