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''The Hollow'' is a 1951 play by crime writer Agatha Christie. It is based on the 1946 book of the same name. ==Background== In her ''Autobiography'', Christie claimed that the success of ''And Then There Were None'' set her on the path of being a playwright as well as a writer of books and that only she would adapt her works for the stage from then on and that ''The Hollow'' would be her next play.〔Christie, Agatha. ''An Autobiography''. (Page 472). Collins, 1977. ISBN 0-00-216012-9〕 In writing this, Christie forgot her intervening plays of ''Appointment with Death'' (1945) and ''Murder on the Nile'' (1946) in addition to Moie Charles and Barbara Toy's 1949 adaptation of ''Murder at the Vicarage''. Christie had always felt that ''The Hollow'' would make a good play but she came up against the opposition of her daughter, Rosalind Hicks, who Christie affectionately described as having "had the valuable role in life of eternally trying to discourage me without success". Christie was determined to turn the book, which both she and Rosalind liked, into a play but was equally adamant that in doing so it would lose the character of Hercule Poirot whose appearance in the book she thought had "ruined it".〔''Autobiography''. (Page 473).〕 The parts of the policemen were changed from the book as well from Inspector Grange and Sergeant Clark to Inspector Colquhoun and Detective Sergeant Penny. Bertie Meyer, a backer of plays whose association with Christie's stage works dated back to ''Alibi'' in 1928, signed a contract to produce ''The Hollow'' in 1950 and plans were made with Christie's agent, Edmund Cork, to open the play in London to coincide with the start of the Festival of Britain. These plans came to nothing and Christie was annoyed at the treatment she was starting to receive from Meyer on this and his slow response to staging another play she had written, ''Towards Zero''.〔Saunders, Peter. ''The Mousetrap Man''. (Page 108) Collins, 1972. ISBN 0-00-211538-7〕 Meyer turned it down as he believed that it would be too difficult to cast, although it has been speculated that the anti-Semitism in the novel was the primary reason, him being Jewish. During the year, Peter Saunders, a young and new theatrical producer had sustained a significant loss when he staged an adaptation by Dan Sutherland of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1913 book, ''The Poison Belt''. Desperate to make up these losses, he cast around for a play that he could take on tour which would not involve too much expense and which would be sure to attract a paying audience. Charles and Toy's adaptation of Christie's ''Murder at the Vicarage'' was just about to finish a four-month run at the Playhouse Theatre and, desperate to minimise his costs, he hit upon the idea that the name of the actors who starred in the production wouldn't really matter as Christie herself was enough of a public name to attract the audience. He therefore deliberately advertised the play as ''Agatha Christie's "Murder at the Vicarage"'' rather than ''"Murder at the Vicarage" by Agatha Christie''. This small piece of showmanship worked. He recouped his losses and, more importantly, brought himself to the attention of Christie who, annoyed with the slow progress of Bertie Meyer, gave ''The Hollow'' to Saunders instead.〔Saunders. (Pages 106–108)〕 Saunders faced great difficulties in staging the play, including refusals to assist in casting or finance from colleagues in the theatrical world who felt that the piece was badly written. One problem was the casting of the star part of Lady Angkatell and it was Saunders who hit upon the idea of Jeanne De Casalis, a choice that Christie did not accept at first but which she later admitted was right.〔Saunders. (Pages 112–113)〕 The play opened at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge on 10 February 1951 although Christie was absent as she was in Iraq accompanying her husband Max Mallowan on one of his archaeological expeditions. She arranged for flowers to be sent to the female members of the cast. Hundreds of miles away, she was as nervous as ever at the public reaction although she was reassured by telegrams which told her that the opening night was a success. Even so, Saunders and director Hubert Gregg had to make some amendments to take out some of the unintentional comic moments that had occurred on the first night.〔Morgan, Janet. ''Agatha Christie, A Biography.'' (Page 288) Collins, 1984 ISBN 0-00-216330-6.〕 After an eight-week tour, the play opened at the Fortune Theatre in London on 7 June 1951 to an enthusiastic press response. It transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre on 8 October 1951〔Saunders. (Pages 114–115)〕 and ran for a total of eleven months and 376 performances,〔''Book and Magazine Collector''. Issue 174. September 1998〕 enabling Christie to see it on her return. One special thrill for Saunders was a request by Queen Mary, a noted Christie fan, to see the play and she came to the Fortune Theatre to do so and met various members of the cast in the interval.〔 Christie herself was so pleased at the efforts that Saunders made that she took him to lunch just after Christmas 1951 and gave him a brown paper package. Inside it was the script for a new play she had just written, ''The Mousetrap''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Hollow (play)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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