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''Black Coffee'' is a play by the British crime-fiction author Agatha Christie (1890–1976) which was produced initially in 1930. The first piece that Christie wrote for the stage, it launched a successful second career for her as a playwright. Twenty-two years after Christie's death,'' Black Coffee'' was re-published in the United Kingdom and the United States in the form of a novel. The novelisation was undertaken by the Australian-born writer and classical music critic Charles Osborne, with the endorsement of the Christie estate. == Writing and production == Agatha Christie began writing ''Black Coffee'' in 1929, feeling disappointed with the portrayal of Hercule Poirot in the previous year's play ''Alibi'', and being equally dissatisfied with the motion-picture adaptations of her short story ''The Coming of Mr. Quin'' and her novel ''The Secret Adversary'' as ''The Passing of Mr. Quin'' and ''Die Abenteurer GmbH''.〔Morgan, Janet. ''Agatha Christie, A Biography''. (Page 177) Collins, 1984 ISBN 0-00-216330-6〕 According to the foreword to the current HarperCollins edition of ''Black Coffee'' in its novelised form, she finished writing the play in late 1929. She mentions'' Black Coffee'' in her 1977 life story, ''Autobiography'', describing it as "a conventional spy thriller ... full of cliches, it was, I think, not at all bad".〔Christie, Agatha. ''An Autobiography''. (Pages 433 -434). Collins, 1977. ISBN 0-00-216012-9〕 Nonetheless, her literary agents had advised her to forget the play entirely and she was willing to do so until a friend connected with the theatre suggested that it might be worth producing. Christie's autobiography claimed that the debut performance of ''Black Coffee'' took place at the Everyman Theatre in Hampstead. However, no record exists of such a staging and she was undoubtedly confusing it with the true opening production at the Embassy Theatre in Swiss Cottage (now London's Central School of Speech and Drama) on 8 December 1930.〔Agatha Christie – Official Centenary Celebration (Page 78). 1990. Belgrave Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-00-637675-4.〕 The production ran in that theatre only until 20 December. On 9 April 1931 it re-opened at the St Martin's Theatre (later to be the second home of Christie's most enduring stage work ''The Mousetrap''), where it ran until 1 May before transferring to the Wimbledon Theatre on 4 May. It then went to the Little Theatre on 11 May, finally closing there on 13 June 1931. Poirot was played initially by the well-known character actor Francis L. Sullivan who became a good friend of the author. She approved of his portrayal despite the fact that physically he was far too tall for the dapper little Belgian detective. (Sullivan stood six feet, two inches in height.)〔''Book and Magazine Collector''. Issue 174. September 1998〕 Also in the premiere cast was (Sir) Donald Wolfit, playing Dr. Carelli. Wolfit would become renowned in England as an actor-manager, best remembered for his vivid interpretations of Shakespearean roles and other big-scale classical parts. Unlike most other Christie plays, ''Black Coffee'' did not transfer to the New York stage.〔Haining, Peter. ''Agatha Christie – Murder in Four Acts'' (Page 26). 1990. Virgin Books. ISBN 1-85227-273-2.〕 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「Black Coffee (play)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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