What do a Morningside hall and one of Agatha Christie’s enduring mysteries have in common? Both trace their stories back to 1926, a connection Footlights Theatrical will bring to life this October.
Read: Traffic Signal Box Pays Tribute to Morningside School of Arts Ahead of 100-Year Milestone
The community theatre company will present The Mysterious Disappearance across three performances at the Morningside School of Arts on October 9 and 10, as part of celebrations marking the historic hall’s centenary.
The production draws a connection between the hall’s opening year and a significant episode in Christie’s life.
The mystery writer disappeared for 11 days in December 1926, the same year the Morningside School of Arts opened. Christie left her home in Berkshire on December 3, with her car later discovered abandoned. An extensive search followed before she was found at a hotel in Harrogate. The circumstances surrounding those missing days have remained the subject of public fascination and form the basis for a theatrical story set almost 50 years later.
A Mystery From A Remarkable Year
The Mysterious Disappearance is set in December 1975, almost 50 years after Christie vanished. In the play, an ageing Christie is attempting to finish her autobiography and final novel before the new year. Her attention is increasingly drawn back to the events of 1926, including her husband’s affair with Nancy Neele and the circumstances of her disappearance.
Mary Westmacott, the pseudonym Christie used for six novels exploring love and human relationships outside the detective genre, helps Christie contemplate, in the fictionalised story, what it might have been like to kill the woman who had stolen her husband.
As memory, imagination and reality become increasingly blurred, the production asks whether Christie simply imagined murder or whether something more lies behind the mystery.
Director Roslyn Johnson said the connection between Christie’s story and the Morningside hall made the production a fitting choice for the centenary.
“1926 was a remarkable year for both the Morningside School of Arts and Agatha Christie, so The Mysterious Disappearance felt like the perfect production to help celebrate the hall’s centenary,” Johnson said.
She said the production would explore memory, ageing, betrayal and the question of what might have happened during Christie’s 11 missing days.
Celebrating 100 Years Of Local History
The theatre season forms part of a broader programme marking the Morningside School of Arts’ centenary, with celebrations looking back at the music, fashions, culture and history of 1926.
A time capsule will also be created using material from the hall’s archives, preserving information about its history for future generations.
Read: Morningside School Of Arts Hall Battles Decay As Centenary Nears
Johnson said the production would give audiences a compelling mystery while providing an opportunity to step into the culture and history of the year when the local hall began its story.
The three performances are scheduled for Friday, October 9 at 7.30pm, followed by Saturday, October 10 at 2pm and 7.30pm.
All performances will be held at the Morningside School of Arts at 590 Wynnum Road, Morningside.
Published 14-September-2026
