The Westport Library's “We Read” Program Partners with Westport Country Playhouse to Share Agatha Christie Whodunit with Community

To mark the 100th anniversary of Agatha Christie's classic whodunit, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” The Westport Library and Westport Country Playhouse are inviting the community to participate in a unique literary and theatrical experience through The Library's “We Read” program.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest detective novels ever written, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” has been adapted for the stage by Mark Shanahan, artistic director of Westport Country Playhouse, in association with Agatha Christie Ltd. as the official stage version of the novel. Shanahan will lead a discussion of his adaptation on Wednesday, July 1, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Room 210 at The Westport Library, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at the process of transforming Christie's celebrated work into a live theatrical production.

Copies of the script are available for checkout at the Library's patron services desk on the main level. Community members are encouraged to read the script in advance and join fellow mystery and theater enthusiasts for a conversation with the playwright himself.

The adaptation will then come to life on the Playhouse stage in “Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” directed by Shanahan, running from July 14 through August 1.

Set in a quiet English village in 1926, “Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” follows the legendary detective Hercule Poirot as he investigates a shocking death that exposes a tangle of secrets and deception. The novel helped establish Christie's enduring legacy as the “Queen of Crime.”

Together, The Westport Library and Westport Country Playhouse offer the community an opportunity to engage with this masterpiece of detective fiction—first on the page, then in conversation with the playwright, and finally on the stage.

For information on The Westport Library's “We Read” Agatha Christie's “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”: https://westportlibrary.org/event/we-read-the-murder-of-roger-ackroyd-with-the-westport-country-playhouse/