A crime wave is coming to the English Riviera - and we all know whodunnit

A crime wave is on the cards as the Agatha Christie Festival returns to Torbay.

As the home of the world’s most successful writer, expect mystery and a celebration of her history around every corner between September 7 and 15.

Once again, an exciting five-day Fringe Festival is merged into a four-day Literary Festival and includes high profile speakers and performances, as well fun and quirky literary-themed events in unusual places. 

This year’s Fringe Festival opens with ‘Sparkling Cyanide - A Scintillating Soiree!’ at Brixham Theatre, which is a night of vintage cabaret and burlesque courtesy of The Lucky 7 Club. Other theatrical treats include Murder, She Didn’t Write at Palace Theatre Paignton, which is an improvised murder mystery show that has won multiple awards and sells out every year at the Edinburgh Festival.

Other Fringe Festival highlights include underground cinema at Kents Cavern, a Murder Mystery at Paignton Zoo, A Sparkling Tea on the Terrace at the Redcliffe Hotel and an Agatha Christie-themed Model Railway at Torre Abbey, which was featured in the TV series, The Great Model Railway Challenge. Budding crime writers can also attend a Murder Mystery Writing Masterclass, with Greg Mosse at Torquay Museum. Greg describes himself as a ‘writer and encourager of writers’ and is the husband of international bestselling author, Kate Mosse.

The Literary Festival will again be held in the Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey, with an impressive line-up of speakers who will be chatting about various aspects of Agatha’s life and works, as well as the genre of crime fiction in general. 

Opening the Literary Festival is a very special headline guest, Lynda La Plante who will be launching her memoir, Getting Away with Murder: My Unexpected Life on Page, Stage and Screen.

The packed programme continues with authorities and authors discussing every aspect of Agatha’s life, from her travels to her book covers, as well as the use of jewellery or the role of doctors in her novels. 

The Literary Festival closes with very special guests, Ragnar Jónasson (Dark Iceland) and Benjamin Stevenson (Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone) chatting to Jake Kerridge about their love of Agatha Christie and her influences on their work.

Creative Director of the Agatha Christie Festival, Matt Newbury said; “This year we put more events on and also put them on sale much earlier than ever before. This strategy has really paid off and we have more than 3,000 people joining us from at last 24 different countries. Around 80 per cent of them are overnight visitors, staying in a large number of different types of accommodation right across the Bay. 

“However, the Festival is also very much for local people as well and I would really encourage you to join us at one or more of the events if you can. It’s a real celebration of Agatha Christie’s remarkable legacy and a lot of fun.”The Agatha Christie Festival is a registered charity and ticket sales allows the organisers to work with local community-based charitable organisations to deliver a series of arts participation and performance events with schools across the English Riviera. The aim is to increase literacy levels and foster a love of reading amongst young people.  This year, hundreds of local primary school children will be taking part in creative writing workshops in collaboration with Torre Abbey and The Writers Block. 

An A-Level study day at Palace Theatre in Paignton will also explore The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which is on the syllabus for the first time this year. 

The Festival has also commissioned DAISI and MED Theatre to run a series of Easter and Summer School workshops up on Dartmoor, which is a place very close to Agatha Christie’s heart. 

On Saturday September 7 you can come along to Paignton Library to watch the results of Write Now 2024 at a scratch performance by all those who took part in the programme. The Agatha Christie Festival wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of a number of organisations who can see its full value and potential. These include Agatha Christie Ltd, Torbay Council, The English Riviera BID Company, HarperCollins UK, Wollens, PKF Francis Clark, The Lindbury Trust and Colwinston Charitable Trust.

To find out more and book tickets, visit www.agathachristiefestival.com

FRINGE FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS 

Sparkling Cyanide – A Scintillating SoireeSaturday September 7Expect feisty Flappers, femmes fatales, dapper daredevils and moustachioed marvels at this slightly risqué night of vintage cabaret and burlesque at Brixham’s heritage theatre.  

The Wagatha MysterySunday September 8 Moonstone Theatre presents the world’s first dog walking murder mystery, where your four-legged friends can help you follow the leads, sniff out the clues and collar the suspect. 

Action, Adventure and International IntrigueSunday September 8Agatha Christie based Hampsley Cavern in The Man in the Brown Suit on Kents Cavern and to celebrate the book's 100th anniversary, local author Emma Seaman will be hosting a very special night in the caves themselves. 

A Sparkling Tea on the TerraceTuesday September 10 Enjoy a glass of prosecco and a delicious afternoon tea on the terrace of the Redcliffe Hotel, with live music from their resident singer and taking in some of the finest views in the Bay. 

Murder at the Zoo – Whispers in the Wild. Tuesday September 10 Find yourself immersed in a world of zoological drama as an evening of conspiracy unfolds around you, courtesy of Moonstone Theatre Company. Tickets include a two-course meal. 

“All Aboard” the Agatha Christie Model Railway Wednesday September 11Torre Abbey will be hosting an Agatha Christie-inspired model railway, constructed for TV’s The Great Model Railway Challenge. See the masterpiece, before the builders share both their inspirations and the challenges they faced. The Hot House ComboWednesday September 11Offshore Bar and Restaurant present an evening of live swing and jazz from the brilliant four-piece Hot House Combo. Why not book a meal and make a night of it? Birthday Event: Hercule Poirot’s Favourite CaseSunday September 15To celebrate Agatha’s birthday, Brad Friedmanwill discuss Cards on the Table, one of Christie’s most ingenious novels set at an after-dinner bridge tournament. Following the talk, Alex Maddocks from Torquay Bridge Club will provide an interdiction to the game and a chance to play a mini-tournament.  Theatre ProductionsThroughout the Festival This year, TOADS Theatre Company will be performing The Unexpected Guest at the Little Theatre, while The BOADS will be staging Witness for the Prosecution at Brixham Theatre. Meanwhile, The Royal Lyceum Theatre is screening Murder She Said, starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. 

LITERARY FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS IN THE SPANISH BARN 

Agatha TravelsFriday September 13Andrew Eames is the bestselling author of The 8.55 to Baghdad, in which he retraces a solo journey made by Agatha Christie in 1928 - a journey that was to change her life.Agatha Christie and the Crime that Dare not Speak its nameFriday September 13Caroline Derry’s talk will explore how Agatha represented lesbians in her post-war novels, and the insights they offer into the criminal justice system’s attitudes to lesbianism.   The Jewellery CasesSaturday September 14Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan discusses the various mentions of rings and necklaces and precious stones found in Christie’s books and what their historical (and personal) relevance was. Miss Marple and the Secret History of Female SleuthsSaturday September 14 

Join Caitlin Davies, author of Private Inquiries, for a journey through the history of Britain’s real-life women detectives. 

Agatha Christie’s DoctorsSaturday September 14Join Raye Green, the author of Agatha Christie’s Doctors, as she investigates the many hundreds of doctors, nurses and medics in Christie’s stories. 

Agatha Christie and the Rolling StoneSunday  September 15Mark Wiltshire from Christie’s Auction House headed up the sale of rare Christie collectables assembled by the late Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts. He talks about the market for Christie Collectables. Tommy and Tuppence and The Great DetectivesSunday September 15Dr John Curran investigates the Great Detective characters in whose style Tommy and Tuppence solve their cases in Partners in Crime. 

The Art and Artists of Agatha ChristieSunday September 15 Join David Morris, the author and editor of Collecting Christie, as he shares fascinating insights into the iconic dust jacket artwork that adorned Christie’s British and American first editions. 

Ragnar Jónasson and Benjamin StevensonSunday  September 15This year’s closing event will see two huge and entertaining writers in the murder mystery genre chat about their love of Agatha Christie and her influences on their work.