International Agatha Christie Festival 2017
Dr.Sheppard
Oxford, UK
Details about the five day festival have begun to emerge. Dates : 13 - 17 September. A month later than proposed, the full programme has yet to be published, but there will be poets, writers, directors and providing workshops, talk, and exhibitions, with links to Agatha Christie, based at Torre Abbey, and the nearby Grand Hotel Torquay. http://www.iacf-uk.org/
Comments
The programme does seem very strange, with very few activities actually related to Agatha Christie, rather that the five days is a cultural awareness festival. My question is, will the Agatha Christie fans attend the festival? Interested to hear your thoughts.
@Jonathan
I am delighted to find someone else that has attended the Agatha Christie Festival – it has always appeared that I was the only one. In commenting I also feel that someone may get the impression that I am part of the Marketing Team for the festival, when I’m actually just a fan of Agatha Christie’s books.
The festival was certainly a little different this year; it was governed by the fact that the organisers felt they needed funds to run it on a more permanent basis with activities happening throughout the year. They were able to obtain a grant from Arts Council England, for £91,000, based on the fact that they would promote ‘Arts’ in the local Torbay area. See below.
There were very few true Agatha Christie related events, however, these events were well attended. On Thursday, the Julius Green (From Page to Stage) which examined the approach used by Christie to adapting her novels into plays, was well attended - they had to change rooms because of the interest meant over 100 people attended. On Saturday the Mark Aldridge event, (Christie on Screen), was sold out. On Friday, the Lurker-Linane Investigations, (Pitch n Put murder investigations), had 49 people playing. Finally, both John Curran events were also sold out. So, there was a little bit for all tastes, but having said that I did only attend three events, partly because I did not want to pay £25 for a day ticket and when they made individual event tickets available they soon sold out to the events I wanted to attend. I hope the committee have learnt something from this year’s festival! I would add that the local businesses that promoted Christie did a brilliant job and although they were not part of the festival they were well supported and some sold out. As a whole the week of the festival was really enjoyable, and the fans staying as The Grand Hotel (which supports the festival) had a fantastic week with lots of things to do.
It was a new Festival Director this year, and it may be that he was not aware of what the Agatha Christie Festival means to her fans, however, there are changes in the air regarding how Agatha Christie is being promoted. We saw thebeginning of a change with the TV films in the last two years and in November this year, The Murder on the Orient Express film, is very different from the book (inside knowledge). My thoughts on this is that they are not Agatha Christies work, so my comments will always be based on the books.
As you have stated the festival organisers do need to be made aware of what the Christie fans would like the festival to present, we need to tell them and make sure they get the message. The official festival is every two years, so next year it looks like there will be a one-day birthday celebration on Saturday 15th September, however, there are a group of fans that are considering running their own festival, if they do, they need to be supported.
Perhaps I’ve gone on too long, but I hope it is of interest to you and others in this community.
Notes:
In autumn 2017, Zuppa Theatre (an ensemble theatre company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia) will be working with IACF on a research project. (https://www.iacf-uk.org/activities/vista/)
During this autumn, IACF is working with local Torbay and South Devon-based arts organisations Doorstep Arts, Play Torbay and Sound Communities on a series of projects at Torre Abbey presented as part of the Doorstep Festival. (https://www.iacf-uk.org/activities/iacf-october-half-term-projects/)
I, too, attended Mark Aldridge's excellent talk at Torquay Museum (I asked the question about Soviet film adaptations) and for me it was the highlight of the weekend. Funny, informative and engaging. It was precisely the kind of event I would have expected from such a Festival, and which really I wanted to see more of. You mentioned similar events from earlier in the week which I should also have liked to have attended, so perhaps more concentrated scheduling of those types of events might have improved my own experience of the festival.
I have today completed the IACF online feedback form, and made that point, among others. I trust I've done it in a constructive way!