Being a witness to mystery

St. Vital

Osborne Village

West Broadway

The work of one of history’s most acclaimed mystery writers will soon be showcased in south Winnipeg.

St. Vital-based 7 Ages Productions will present Agatha Christie’s The Witness for the Prosecution at the Gas Station Arts Centre (445 River Ave.) from Nov. 28 to 30.

George Buri, the production’s director, said the play — which was written in the 1950s — remains timeless and engaging today.

“It’s brilliantly written,” Buri said, noting the show is approximately two-and-a-half hours long with two intermissions. “Agatha Christie is really a brilliant playwright.”

Buri – who has produced numerous plays through the years, most recently Shirley Valentine in the spring – said he thinks prospective audiences will enjoy the story, which is “full of twists and turns” and has a shock ending (when the play was first shown, Buri said, audiences and others were sworn to secrecy).

“There’s really something special about her plays. I think part of the magic is in the characters — she has a knack of writing about really interesting characters,” Buri said, noting the complexity of Christie’s characters provides his stable of actors with good challenges.

Buri added audience members will be involved with the production, viscerally; the play is set in law offices and a court room … and many things set in a court room involve a jury, which becomes inexplicably connected to the story.

To get the best out of the play, audiences will need to have a good attention span, and have an inclination to want to look for clues — fundamental assets in the whodunit universe.

“She writes plays that don’t reveal things, so the audience has to work at it,” Buri said. “It’s often about different choices you can make.”

Karl Eckstrand, who plays Judge Wainwright in the production, is enjoying the challenge of rehearsing for the part.

“Agatha Christie has been one of my favourite authors since my teens,” said Eckstrand, who lives in West Broadway, noting Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple rank among his favourite Christie characters.

Eckstrand said the story is well constructed, and it will keep the audience guessing, which is a characteristic of many of Christie’s plays.

Ice cream will be for sale at the intermissions of the production, Buri said, noting that’s typical of the classic theatrical infrastructure of British productions: “I think audiences will like the play. It’s very dramatic.”

Showtimes are: Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 29, 2 and 8 p.m.; Nov. 30, 2 p.m. Tickets are available at gsac.ca or by calling 204-284-9477.