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Akhnaton

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4w, 12m

Agatha Christie

An epic historical drama in three acts.

Akhnaton

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 12m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Docudrama/Historic
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

An enlightened pharaoh falls foul of his conservative court when he attempts to unite the polytheist Egyptians under one god – a course of action that forces factions of both the army and priesthood to turn against him. Undeterred, Akhnaton’s vision of a kingdom where people dwell in peace, truth, love and beauty will ultimately destroy him and all those he holds dear. 

Regarded as one of her most extraordinary plays, this epic historical drama is unlike anything you have read of Christie’s before. 

Keywords
Performing Groups

THE HIGH PRIEST OF AMON
AN ENVOY
HOREMHEB
A HERALD
QUEEN TYI 
AKHNATON 
ROYAL SCRIBE
NUBIAN SERVANT
AY 
NEFERTITI
NEZZEMUT 
PARA 
BEK 
PTAHMOSE 
TUTANKHATON 
CAPTAIN OF SOLDIERS

SUPERNUMERARIES
A WOMAN
A MAN
SECOND WOMAN
SECOND MAN
SOLDIERS
ATTENDANTS
YOUNG ARTISTS
TRIBUTARIES
FIRST STONEMASON
SECOND STONEMASON
PEASANTS

  • Time Period Ancient
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

REVIEWS

“Most impressive of all, her 1937 play Akhnaton, set in Ancient Egypt, shows a profound understanding of the mores and character of an enlightened Pharaoh who fell foul of his conservative court. One of Christie’s most profound and daring works.” - Neil Norman, Daily Express

“Akhnaton is no didactic tract, but a drama of ruthless logic and theatrical power, its characters sharply delineated, its arguments humanized and convincingly set forth.” - Charles Osborne, Theatre critic, writer and literature director of the Arts Council of Great Britain 

“Agatha’s most beautiful and profound play; brilliant in its delineation of character, tense with drama.... the characters are submitted to exceptionally penetrating analytical treatment, because they are not merely subservient to the denouement of a murder plot, but each one is a prime agent in the development of a real historical drama.” - Max Mallowan, Archaeologist and Christie’s second husband.

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

Great Roles in Agatha Christie Plays
Chris Chan
April 16, 2019


Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

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Authors

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and, in many languages, outsold only by the Bible and Shake ...

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