Every year Torbay holds an Agatha Christie festival to coincide with the birth of the English authoress who became known as the Queen of Crime. This year is no exception, and there will be events throughout Torbay and right here at the school to celebrate the festival.

This year’s Agatha Christie festival is set to be launched with nostalgic family fete, based on the detailed description in the Hercule Poirot classic, Dead Man’s Folly. A Fete Worse Than Death will take place on Sunday 13th September from 11am until 4pm on Palk Street Gardens (at the rear of the Torquay Tourist Information Centre and around the Agatha Christie statue) and promises to be a quintessentially English affair.   

 
“There was a coconut shy, presided over by Sir George in his heartiest fashion, a skittle alley and hoop-la. There were various ‘stalls’ displaying local produce of fruit, vegetables, jams and cakes – and others displaying ‘fancy objects.’ There were ‘raffles’ of cakes, baskets of fruit, even it seemed, of a pig; and a ‘Lucky Dip’ for twopence a go.”

Other side shows and events described in the story, which will be reproduced at this traditional fete, will include Madame Zuleika the fortune teller, Guess the Weight of the Cake, a children’s fancy dress competition, the Great Martini in the Bunco Booth, a giant ‘Test of Strength’ and of course, being an Agatha Christie story, a murder or two. There is a strong rumour that Monsieur Poirot himself might be on hand to find the culprit of the dastardly deed.

The event, organised by the English Riviera Tourist Board in association with the Cultural and Environment Partnership, will also include traditional fairground sideshow stalls, some dating back to Victorian times, charity and commercial stalls, jazz musicians, barbershop singers, Morris dancers and a Punch and Judy show.

The whole area will also be decorated with traditional bunting, helping transport people back to the halcyon days of the Jazz Age, while all of the local Palk Street businesses will be getting involved selling everything from cream teas to old-fashioned sweets and period souvenirs to cloudy lemonade and lashings of ginger beer. The entertainment will continue into the evening with live jazz music at the Treasury and a themed cocktail or two – Sparkling Cyanide, anyone?  

Georgina Bowen, Marketing manager at the English Riviera Tourist Board said: “We are really excited about this fete and are pulling out all the stops to make the event a truly colourful, entertaining and nostalgic start to this year’s Agatha Christie Festival. There is a vast array of thing going on, suitable for all the family, and we hope lots of children will take part in the period fancy dress competition and other fun and games we have up our sleeves.”

The Agatha Christie Festival will run from 13th to 20th September, with highlights including live radio plays being performed over a three-course meal at the Imperial Hotel and introduced by Christie’s grandson, Mathew Prichard, The Spider’s Web performed by the Agatha Christie Theatre Company at the Princess Theatre, a Murder Mystery Dining Train on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, an open air cinema screening of Murder On The Orient Express in front of Torre Abbey and a Classic Car Treasure Hunt. More than 50 events will take place over the seven-day festival which coincides with Agatha Christie’s birthday on 15th September.

LAL Torbay will be organising its own events to coincide with the public festival, including a week-long exhibition, special tours and a brand new play inspired by Agatha Christie and performed by our students.  AT

You can find out more about the Agatha Christie Festival at www.englishriviera.co.uk