Witness for the

Prosecution

Agatha Christie

A Samuel French Acting Edition

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WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION was first produced at The Winter
Garden Theatre, London, on October 28th, 1953. It was directed by
Wallace Douglas, with sets by Michael Weight. The cast was as follows:

GRETA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rosalie Westwater

CARTER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Walter Horsbrugh
MR. MAYHEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milton Rosmer
LEONARD VOLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Derek Blomfield
SIR WILFRED ROBARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Horne
INSPECTOR HEARNE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Raven
PLAIN-CLOTHES DETECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kenn Kennedy
ROMAINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Jessel
CLERK OF THE COURT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philip Holles
MR. JUSTICE WAINWRIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percy Marmont
ALDERMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Walter Horsbrugh
MR. MYERS, Q.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D. A. Clarke-Smith
COURT USHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nicholas Tannar
COURT STENOGRAPHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Byrning
WARDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denzil Ellis
THE JUDGE’S CLERK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Muir Little
1ST BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Dudley
2ND BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Bulloch
3RD BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lionel Gadsden
4TH BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Farries Moss
5TH BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Coke
6TH BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Agnes Fraser
1ST MEMBER OF THE JURY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lauderdale Beckett
2ND MEMBER OF THE JURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iris Fraser Foss
3RD MEMBER OF THE JURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kenn Kennedy
A POLICEMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .David Homewood
DR. WYATT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graham Stuart
JANET MACKENZIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jean Stuart
MR. CLEGG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Peter Franklin
THE OTHER WOMAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rosemary Wallace
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION was subsequently produced at Henry
Miller’s Theatre in New york City on December 16, 1954. It was directed
by Robert Lewis, with sets by Raymond Sovey and costumes by Kathryn
Miller. The cast was as follows:

GRETA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Barclay

CARTER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gordon Nelson
MR. MAYHEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robin Craven
LEONARD VOLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gene Lyons
SIR WILFRED ROBARTS, Q.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Francis L. Sullivan
INSPECTOR HEARNE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claude Horton
PLAIN-CLOTHES DETECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ralph Leonard
ROMAINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Jessel
CLERK OF THE COURT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ronald Dawson
MR. JUSTICE WAINWRIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Horace Braham
ALDERMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R. Cobden-Smith
MR. MYERS, Q.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ernest Clark
COURT USHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Arthur Oshlag
COURT STENOGRAPHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W. H. Thomas
WARDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ralph Roberts
THE JUDGE’S CLERK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Harold Webster
1ST BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Henry Craig Nelso
2ND BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brace Conning
3RD BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth Greene
4TH BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Albert Richards
5TH BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Franklyn Monroe
6TH BARRISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sam Kramer
1ST MEMBER OF THE JURY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Bittner
2ND MEMBER OF THE JURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew George
3RD MEMBER OF THE JURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dolores Rashid
A POLICEMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bryan Herbert
DR. WYATT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Guy Spall
JANET MACKENZIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Una O’Connor
MR. CLEGG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael McAloney
THE OTHER WOMAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dawn Steinkamp
 CHARACTERS
GRETA
CARTER
MR. MAYHEW
LEONARD VOLE
SIR WILFRED ROBARTS
INSPECTOR HEARNEn
PLAIN-CLOTHES DETECTIVE
ROMAINE
CLERK OF THE COURTes
MR. JUSTICE WAINWRIGHT
ALDERMAN
MR. MYERS, Q.C.
COURT USHER
COURT STENOGRAPHER
WARDER
THE JUDGE’S CLERK
1ST BARRISTER
2ND BARRISTER
3RD BARRISTER
4TH BARRISTER
5TH BARRISTER
6TH BARRISTER
1ST MEMBER OF THE JURY
2ND MEMBER OF THE JURYs
3RD MEMBER OF THE JURY
A POLICEMAN
DR. WYATT
JANET MACKENZIE
MR. CLEGG
THE OTHER WOMAN
 SETTING
ACT ONE
The Chambers of Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C. Afternoon.

ACT TWO
The Central Criminal Court, London-better known as the Old Bailey.
Six weeks later. Morning.

ACT THREE
Scene I: The chambers of Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C. The same evening.
Scene II: The Old Bailey. The next morning.

TIME
The present
 AUTHOR’S NOTES
I have great faith in the ingenuity of amateurs and repertory companies
to devise means of reducing the very large cast of Witness for the Prosecution
in order to make it possible to perform, and my suggested means of
reducing the cast is probably only one of many.

As there are a large number of non-speaking parts, it may well be that

local amateurs can be used, or members of the audience be invited on
to the stage, and I believe that this would be greatly to the benefit of the
play rather than lose the spectacle of a lot of people in the court scene.

Although Greta never appears at the same time as “The Other Woman,’’
i.e. the strawberry blonde in the final scene, this part should not be
doubled, as the audience will think it is “plot”–whlch, of course, it isn’t.

The play has given me enormous enjoyment in writing, and I do hope

that the repertory companies who do it will derive the same pleasure
from it. Good luck.

Agatha Christie

CARTER – Can double as the Judge

INSPECTOR HEARNE – Can double as Policeman at end of last act
PLAIN CLOTHES DETECTIVE – Can be doubled by Warder
CLERK OF THE COURT – This part can be combined with Court Usher
ALDERMAN – Can be dispensed with
COURT STENOGRAPHER – Can be dispensed with
JUDGE’S CLERK – Can be dispensed with
SIX BARRISTERS – Four can be dispensed with
THREE MEMBERS OF THE JURY – These can be dispensed with and the
“taking of the oath” and “returning the verdict” can be done by a
voice “off”
MR. MYERS, Q.C. – Can double plain-clothes Detective
 ACT ONE

(The chambers of SIR WILFRID ROBARTS, Q.C.)

The scene is Sir Wilfrid’s private office. It is a narrow
room with the door left and a window right The window
has a deep built-in window seat and overlooks a
tall plain brick wall. There is a fireplace center of the
back wall, flanked by bookcases filled with heavy legal
volumes. There is a desk right center with a swivel chair
right of it and a leather-covered upright chair left of it. A
second upright chair stands against the bookcases left of
the fireplace. In the corner up right is a tall reading desk,
and in the corner up left are some coathooks attached to
the wall. At night the room is lit by electric candle-lamp
wall-brackets right and left of the fireplace and an angle-
poise lamp on the desk. The light switch is below the door
left. There is a bell push left of the fireplace. The desk has
a telephone on it and is littered with legal documents.
There are the usual deed-boxes and there is a litter of
documents on the window seat.)
(see the ground plan and photograph of the scene)
(When the curtain rises it is afternoon and there is
sunshine streaming in through the window right.
The office is empty. GRETA, Sir Wilfrid’s typist, enters
immediately. She is an adenoidal girl with a good
opinion of herself. She crosses to the fireplace, doing a
“square dance” step, and takes a paper from a box-file
on the mantelpiece. CARTER, the Chief Clerk, enters. He
careies some letters. GRETA turns, sees CARTER, crosses
and quietly exits. CARTER crosses to the desk and puts
the letters on it. The telephone rings. CARTER lifts the
receiver.)

9
10 WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION

CARTER. (into the telephone) Sir Wilfrid Robart’s Chambers

… Oh, it’s you, Charles… No, Sir Wilfrid’s in Court…
Won’t be back just yet… Yes, Shuttleworth Case… What
– with Myers for the prosecution and Banter trying it?
… He’s been giving judgment for close on two hours
already… No, not an earthly this evening. We’re full
up. Can give you an appointment tomorrow… No,
couldn’t possibly. I’m expecting Mayhew, of Mayhew
and Brinskill you know, any minute now… Well, so
long. (He replaces the receiver and sorts the documents on
the desk.)
GRETA. (Enters. She is painting her nails.) Shall I make the
tea, Mr. Carter?
CARTER. (looking at his watch) It’s hardly time yet, Greta.
GRETA. It is by my watch.
CARTER. Then your watch is wrong.
GRETA. (crossing to center) I put it right by the radio.
CARTER. Then the radio must be wrong.
GRETA. (shocked) Oh, not the radio, Mr. Carter. That
couldn’t be wrong.
CARTER. This watch was my father’s. It never gains nor
loses. They don’t make watches like that nowadays.
(He shakes his head, then suddenly changes his manner and
picks up one of the typewritten papers.) Really, your typing.
Always mistakes. (He crosses to right of GRETA.) You’ve
left out a word.
GRETA. Oh, well – just one word. Anyone might do that.
CARTER. The word you have left out is the word not. The
omission of it entirely alters the sense.
GRETA. Oh, does it? That’s rather funny when you come to
think of it. (She giggles.)
CARTER. It is not in the least funny. (He tears the letter in
half and hands the piece to her.) Do it again. You may
remember I told you last week about the celebrated
case of Bryant and Horsfall. Case of a will and a trust