Louise Jameson returns to the scene of the crime for another Christie mystery
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When it comes to Agatha Christie, Louise Jameson just can’t stop herself from returning to the scene of the crime.
Only last year, the actor, writer and director was in the role of Mrs Boyle and taking part in an eight-month tour for the Queen of Crime’s famous play The Mousetrap as part of its extended 60th anniversary celebrations.
Yet less than a year later and Louise is back in the world of murder and mystery, taking on one of Agatha’s most famous creations – amateur sleuth Miss Marple – in the stage adaptation of A Murder is Announced, coming to Eden Court for a six-night run from Monday(, July 17).
But what keeps her coming back to Agatha’s works? “Well, you know, God bless Agatha Christie, because there simply aren’t that many roles for women over 50 – and Agatha does it more than any other playwright I think,” Louise said.
“I mean, there are three people over 50 in this production, which is great! I can’t think of another play off the top of my head that does that, can you?
“God bless Shakespeare, but even he lets his older women down – unless you’re a witch in Macbeth!”
While Agatha’s ability to write strong older women – “Sharp as a knife as well. I’m sure she identified very strongly with her leads.” – is a draw for the actor, Louise has been a lifelong fan of the author. “I read her vociferously when I was in my teens, but I got rather irritated, because all I wanted to know was who done it.
“I didn’t enjoy the journey like I do now. I think the older you get – you know, it’s a metaphor for life – the more you enjoy the journey.
Taking on Miss Jane Marple this time would be a daunting task for a lot of actors – as one of the most iconic characters in literature, the spinster with a nose for deduction has appeared on stage and screen many times – most famously by Margaret Rutherford in several films.
It’s a task Louise is up for however – and she has the acting CV to back it up. Over an acting career spanning more than forty five years, Louise has had roles in Doctor Who, Eastenders, Bergerac, Doc Martin, and Tenko – “my favourite!”
She has also had a distinguished stage career, with a two year stint with the Royal Shakespeare Company and a leading role in the first run of British playwright Peter Nichol’s Passion Play, just to name a few as well as, of course, The Mousetrap last year.
“It’s tough, isn’t it, because so many actresses have done it actually rather brilliantly before you,” Louise said. “So I tried not to be influenced really, just looked at the text and saw what it gave me.
“For example there’s the fact that she carries a knitting bag, so, okay – where can we get the knitting in? I’ve got the rest of the cast putting in orders for scarves that I’ve got to get done before the end of the tour and we finish!
“I did toy with the idea of knitting a Doctor Who scarf for anybody who came to see it, because there’s a big Doctor Who following for me, and I thought it’d be a nice little in-joke there – but I thought better of it in the end.”
Although there is one other famous fictional detective that Louise has drawn upon for the role. “I suppose, if anybody, I’ve based her a bit on Columbo, who is that sort of bumbling – you think he wouldn’t put knife and fork together, but he’s got this brain that just calculates and observes and solves.”
There are a few acting tricks that Louise uses to show Marple’s mind working, deducing and detecting over the course – but to reveal that would be to spoil where the clues are. All you need to know is that, of course, “It’s subtle!
“You don’t want to say to the audience, ‘Here. Is. A. Big. Clue.’ – because those of them that don’t know the story are calculating along with you. I mean, Miss Marple is the audience, really.
“It’s like playing to two audiences because when a clue does land you can feel a slight ripple through the audience, and you think, ‘oh, there are people in who know their stuff tonight.’
“So you’ve got to be careful with that – but also without giving too much away for those who don’t.”
While new audiences will be following along with every clue, being misled by every red herring and deducing along with Miss Marple, veterans of Christie’s works will be able to enjoy the storytelling, the beats, and how the author has constructed it.
It’s why, in Louise’s opinion, her works continue to translate from the page to other media so well. “The most important thing is the story arc,” she explained, “which Christie is taskmistress at – the peaks and the troughs and pushing you off in the wrong direction, hauling you back again, having the blackouts, having the suspense, she’s great at all that.
“But when you can get a camera on a close up on someone looking a bit frightened, or a bit puzzled, that can speak as much as a paragraph of dialogue, and you can get all the subtleties in using a creative key to make it work.
“I think it’s true of any script, really, when other creatives get their hands on it – assuming you’re all working with storytelling in mind and not your own ego, then it can only be improved.”
That selflessness towards serving the plot is at the heart of adapting Christie’s – or anybody’s – work for Louise. “All you are really is a bridge between the text and the audience – a vessel, you know, to carry that text to them in the best way possible. So you have to be keen and clear and without ego.
“It’s a funny old profession, because it takes a lot of ego to become an actor, but you just have to leave it in the wings when it comes to performing.
“And it’s such an ancient art, isn’t it? I always think with theatre, it’s part church, part brothel – it’s a very sexy profession, but it’s also one to be treated with enormous respect and reverence.
“That’s what I love about it – that contradiction, that paradox!”
Louise Jameson stars as Miss Marple in A Murder is Announced, coming to Eden Court from Monday. For more information or to book tickets, go to www.eden-court.co.uk
