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Agatha Christie would have approved of modern-day revisions to her written works, says her great-grandson James Pritchard.
This Christmas, the BBC is airing one of Christie’s lesser-known works, Murder is Easy, with its central character Luke Fitzwilliam given a Nigerian background, in a change to his character in the novel of the same name, published in 1939.
Pritchard, now in charge of the company overseeing his famous relative’s literary legacy and bringing it to new audiences, told the UK’s Radio Times magazine that he’s convinced Christie would have been in favour of making changes to her text, in terms of both storylines and characterisation.
He said:
“The first few adaptations of her plays were done by other people, and she didn’t like them because she didn’t think they were radical enough for the change in medium.
“She recognised that when you shift the medium, you need to shift the story… I also believe these are adaptations, not translations, and you are looking at the story from where you are now, 90 years after this was first written.”
David Jonsson, the breakout star of financing TV drama Industry and this year’s rom-com Rye Lane, revealed to RT that he was nervous about taking the role in such circumstances:
“I was a little bit unsure. It’s the first time that an Agatha Christie has had a young black hero.” However, he adds: “It’s marvellous that someone like me can be judged on my acting merit to do something so traditional.
“And by making that small change, we make a large change… it’s bold but more people are willing to take risks.”
As well as Jonsson, Murder is Easy stars Lord of the Rings lead Morfydd Clark and Downton Abbey‘s Penelope Wilton are among the cast in this adaptation, funded by BBC and Britbox International.
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