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Dial "M" for Murder
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Matt Salton (left) and Christian Milanovic. |
Originally written for the British Broadcasting Corp.'s Sunday Night Theatre, Dial "M" for Murder was first presented on the stage by James P. Sherwood at the Westminster Theatre, London on June 19, 1952. On October 29, 1952, the play premiered on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre. It had a successful Broadway run and many productions since then (including at Domino Theatre in 1995). A 1954 film adaptation, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starred Ray Milland and Grace Kelly.
Cast and Crew | Seat Map
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"The play is not stilted, nor is it in any way mired in the theatrical conventions of its period. Mr. Knott wrote about people, not time or place, and since people's motivations have not substantively changed since the Greeks began writing plays, ''Dial M'' has a contemporary air. And although the play is heavily plotted, the actions rise out of the characters' motivations and are not imposed from an outside source." The New York Times |
Frederick Knott
Frederick Knott was born in 1916 in Hankou, China, where his English parents were working as missionaries. He first became interested in the theatre thanks to productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas by the Hankow Operatic Society.
Knott was sent back to Britain to attend school, after which he studied law at Cambridge, served in the British Army, and eventually moved to New York. He wrote Dial "M" for Murder initially as a television play for the BBC, after which it was made into a stage play in 1952. He also adapted it into a TV movie for German television in 1959.
Knott wrote only two other plays: Wait Until Dark and the less-known Write Me a Murder. His output also included the screenplays Dial M for Murder, The Last Page and The Honey Pot, and the TV production Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates.
Able to live comfortably on the income from his previous work, Knott stopped writing soon after Wait Until Dark. He died in New York in 2002.
We would like to acknowledge that this production takes place on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples. We honour and give thanks to the land, its inhabitants and their enduring cultures.
Admission $20 (plus Grand Theatre surcharge). Tickets available through Kingston Grand Box Office, 613-530-2050 and online, until 2 p.m. on day of performance, and at the door (cash, debit, Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay or Android Pay) on performance nights when available. Seniors and members $16 at the door on Thursdays only. Children and students $10.
Links
Wikipedia: Frederick KnottWikipedia: Dial M for Murder
The Guardian: Knott Obituary