Howard Brenton, Christie in Love

Steve Barfield (University of Human Development, Suleymanyia, Iraqi Kurdistan); Ian Foakes (Independent Scholar - Europe)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

In November 1969, Howard Brenton joined the Portable Theatre and

Christie in Love

(Oval House, 1969) was his first major play with the company. Based on the life of the 1950s serial woman murder John Christie, it involves the London police’s search for Christie’s victims in his garden – the police officers are then confronted by a Christie risen from the grave, whom they abuse and then re-hang. It is a piece which depends on a strong sense of physical theatricality and plays with the ambivalent responses of the popular press to Christie, who is memorably resurrected from a knee-high pile of used newspapers. The audience is asked to examine what makes the killers of women figures of such public fascination and loathing. The breaking down of the binary opposition of “good”…

1012 words

Citation: Barfield, Steve, Ian Foakes. "Christie in Love". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 January 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13569, accessed 19 March 2024.]

13569 Christie in Love 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.