Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution comes to Bengaluru on October 16

Directed by Bengaluru-based theatre artiste and script writer Bhaskar Gauribidanur, Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution returns to the city this weekend after a successful run this September.

Adapted by Agatha Christie from a 1925 short story titled Traitor’s Hands, this play was first staged 73 years ago in London in October 1953. Having secured the rights to direct the play in India, Bhaskar says he has a long relationship with this story. “I have been doing theatre since I was 12 years old,” says Bhaskar, adding, “that makes it around 50 years of theatre.”

He acted and collaborated with various theatre groups till 1999, and then established Curtain Call, with the aim of encouraging new talent on the stage. “Over the last 28 years, I have introduced more than 250 people to the joys of theatre.”

Bhaskar has directed more than 10 original plays, and Witness for the Prosecution is a revival of a 2005 production. It reportedly sold more than 4,000 tickets in venues across Bengaluru and Delhi.

Witness for the Prosecution won Best Director and Best Actor at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards in 2006. “This is an intriguing mystery and courtroom drama about a man accused of murdering an elderly lady, trying to prove his innocence,” says Bhaskar. For this revival, he will be playing the character of defence counsel Sir Wilfried Robarts.

This enactment of the play stays true to the original adaptation without any alterations or reimaginations, and stars Vinayashree Jagadeesh as Romaine Heilger and Abhinav Narayanan as Leonard Vole. “Christie’s works are written from a British perspective; it loses intricate nuances when adapted to an Indian context.”

Talking about previous stagings, Bhaskar says, “The play received a tremendous response, which made us bring it back.” Apart from the performances on October 16, the play is also scheduled for two shows at Jagriti Theatre on October 31.

Witness for the Prosecution will be staged at Alliance Francaise, Bengaluru at 4pm and 7.30pm on October 16. Tickets from ₹499 on BookMyShow.