Festival 2023

Browse the full programme for this year's Festival 8-17 September. Our online box office via Ticketsource will open on 9 May at 9am.


Important Notice

Please note: that to book multiple tickets for multiple events at once using a shopping basket, please visit the Agatha Christie Festival Ticketsource site directly by clicking this link: ticketsource.co.uk/agathafestival

Agatha Christie Sea Swim : Beacon Cove to Meadfoot Beach

Festival Fringe 0

Sunday 3rd September 2023, 10:00am | Beacon Cove, Torquay, TQ1 2EP

Agatha Christie Sea Swim SOLD OUT

Beacon Cove to Meadfoot Beach

This unique event celebrates Agatha Christie’s love of sea swimming, by taking participants on a one mile ‘sightseeing swim’ between two of her favourite beaches. Participants are encouraged not to race, but to enjoy the scenery, whilst raising money for Rowcroft Hospice.

Tickets: £30 (plus booking fee)

Read more
Walking in Agatha Christie’s footsteps

Festival Fringe 1

Friday 8th September 2023, 10:00am | The English Riviera Visitor Information Centre, Vaughan Parade, Torquay TQ2 5JG

Walking in Agatha Christie’s footsteps

8th – 17th September 2023, 10am and 2.30pm

This award-winning walking tour tells the story of Agatha’s extraordinary life. Guests will be enthralled to listen to her years growing up in Torquay, and visit some of the places from her life and work.

Read more
The Fun Lovin' Crime Writers

Festival Fringe 2

Friday 8th September 2023, 8:00pm | Palace Theatre, Paignton

The Fun Lovin' Crime Writers

Opening the Agatha Christie Festival 2023, we bring you the stellar crime-writing supergroup ‘The Fun-Lovin Crime Writers’. They’ll be killing it on stage at the Palace Theatre, Paignton.

Tickets: From £20

Read more
Framed

Festival Fringe 4

Saturday 9th September 2023, 10:00am | Paignton Library, Courtland Rd, Paignton TQ3 2AB

Framed! by Paddleboat Theatre Company.

Performances at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m

The legendary detective Rufus Caper has been framed and needs your help to uncover the truth! PaddleBoat Theatre Company presents a thrilling family whodunnit with their distinctive fingerprints all over it! Expect music, puppetry, physical comedy and more. Come and help us catch the clues and spot the suspects before Rufus goes down for a crime he didn’t commit!

Suitable for families with children 8+

Tickets: 55 mins (No Interval) | Tickets: £4.00 Child; £7.00 Adult

Read more
The A B Sea Murders

Festival Fringe 5

Saturday 9th September 2023, 6:30pm | Dart Venturer

The A B Sea Murders SOLD OUT

6.30pm – 8.30pm. Departing from Torquay.

Join us for a boat trip around the Bay, passing beaches and locations loved by Agatha or featured in her works. Why not dress in your best detective outfits, as there will be a murder mystery to solve along the way, courtesy of Moonstone Theatre Company. There will also be period music, a fully stocked lounge bar and some fantastic views on this evening cruise. 



Tickets: £20

Read more
The Wagatha Mystery

Festival Fringe 6

Sunday 10th September 2023, 11:00am | Meet outside Cantina, Young's Park Road, Paignton TQ4 6BU


The Wagatha Mystery

A Tail of Murder on the English Riviera


Join us for a unique dog walking murder mystery, courtesy of Moonstone Theatre Company

Tickets: £15

Read more
A Garden Party to Die For

Festival Fringe 7

Sunday 10th September 2023, 3:00pm | Torre Abbey, Torquay TQ2 5JE

A Garden Party to Die For SOLD OUT

Due to popular demand, we are bringing back this favourite event, taking place in the stunning walled gardens at Torre Abbey. Meet the Head Gardener, learn about Agatha Christie’s potent and poisonous plants and her time as a pharmacist in Torquay and join us for afternoon tea – if you dare!

Tickets: £16.50

Read more
Agatha Christie Underground Film Festival

Festival Fringe 9

Sunday 10th September 2023, 6:00pm | Kents Cavern, 91 Ilsham Rd, Torquay TQ1 2JF

Agatha Christie Underground Film Festival

Screenings 6pm and 8:30pm

Our friends at Kents Cavern are hosting a unique underground film festival, with a double bill of two Agatha Christie classics. In February of this year, Cave Cinema won Gold for Devon’s Event of the Year, so we are delighted they will be celebrating the queen of crime in the caves that inspired Hampsly Cavern in The Man in the Brown Suit.

Tickets: £13.50

Read more
Festival Lit-Hop

Festival Fringe 8

Sunday 10th September 2023, 7:00pm | Torquay Museum

Festival Lit-Hop

Following the huge success of last year’s event, we be bringing back our literary take on a bar crawl, visiting some quirky and unusual venues around Torquay harbour. Once again you can expect readings, poetry, music and unexpected happenings along the way. 



Tickets: £15

Read more
70 Years of The Mousetrap

Festival Fringe 10

Monday 11th September 2023, 2:00pm | Princess Theatre, Torbay Rd, Torquay TQ2 5EZ


70 Years of The Mousetrap

The Mousetrap turns 70 this year and ahead of the opening night performance we are delighted to welcome former festival director, Tony Medawar for a fascinating talk about the history of the world’s longest running play - from its origins as a 30-minute radio play and the premiere of the stage version in 1952 right up to the present day.

Tickets: £32

Read more
The Mousetrap 70th Anniversary Tour

Festival Fringe 11

Monday 11th September 2023, 2:30pm | Princess Theatre

The Mousetrap 70th Anniversary Tour

11 - 16 September, Various Times

The Mousetrap turns 70 this year and we are thrilled that the touring production will be at the Princess Theatre in Torquay for the week of the festival (Monday 11 to Saturday 16 September).

Tickets: from £13

Read more
A Taste for Crime

Festival Fringe 12

Tuesday 12th September 2023, 7:00pm | Cantina Torquay, Abbey Park, Torquay TQ2 5HP

A Taste for Crime

This fun and informative evening combines sampling wine whilst solving a mystery. Can you decant the crime and catch the uncorked culprit, before there’s another vineyard victim.

Tickets: £25

Read more
What’s Your Poison

Festival Fringe 14

Wednesday 13th September 2023, 7:00pm | The Livermead House Hotel, Seafront, Torquay, TQ2 6QJ

What’s Your Poison?

Following the sell-out success of this event at last year’s festival, Caroline Hostein returns to chat about cocktails in Christie’s work and the stories behind the creation of our favourites. She’ll be joined by award-winning cocktail mixologist, Cosmo Boardman who will demonstrate how to make your own cocktails in this delicious Festival Fringe talk and demonstration.

Tickets: £30

Read more
Agatha Christie - Her Life in words and music

Festival Fringe 15

Wednesday 13th September 2023, 7:30pm | The Royal Lyceum, Devon, TQ2 5NQ

Agatha Christie - Her Life in words and music

13 - 16 September

Unleashed Theatre Company presents a brand new musical review at Torquay’s historic Royal Lyceum Theatre, telling the life of Agatha Christie through the songs of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Tom Lehrer and more.

Tickets: £15

Read more
Agatha's Adventures in Archaeology

Festival Fringe 16

Thursday 14th September 2023, 10:30am | Palace Theatre, Palace Avenue, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 3HF

Agatha's Adventures in Archaeology

Asked to describe an Agatha Christie story, you'll probably picture an affluent, rural and distinctively English setting... but her travels abroad and excavations at archaeological sites also provided the writer with intriguing settings and unusual plots. Local author Emma Seaman takes us on a tour of some of Mrs Christie's more unusual novels.

Tickets: £6

Read more
Opening Event: Robert Thorogood & Ruth Ware

Event 1

Thursday 14th September 2023, 3:00pm | Spanish Barn, Torre Abbey, Torquay TQ2 5JE

Opening Event: Robert Thorogood & Ruth Ware

To open this year’s Festival, we are delighted to welcome Robert Thorogood, author and creator of the hit mystery television series Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise, and Ruth Ware, author of The IT Girl , The Turn of the Key and other crime thrillers.

Tickets: £15.00

Read more
Mysterious Affairs with Style

Event 2

Thursday 14th September 2023, 5:00pm | Spanish Barn, Torre Abbey, Torquay TQ2 5JE

Mysterious Affairs with Style: Agatha Christie and Fashion

Moira Redmond is a journalist, writer, reviewer and author and the creator of the Clothes in Books blog, which has over 2000 entries and three million page views. For this talk she will be discussing Agatha Christie as social observer and clothes detective.

Tickets: £12

Read more
All About Agatha Live!

Event 3

Thursday 14th September 2023, 7:00pm | Spanish Barn, Torre Abbey, Torquay TQ2 5JE

All About Agatha Live! “Agatha Christie’s Greatest Short Story”

A panel discussion chaired by Kemper Donovan of the All About Agatha team, with Christie authorities, Dr John Curran, Dr Jamie Bernthal-Hooker, Mark Aldridge and Christie fan and author of the Smart Women crime mysteries, Victoria Dowd. 

In this panel debate, our Christie experts will challenge each other with their own pitches for Agatha’s Greatest Short Story.  

Tickets: £17.50

Read more
Rachel Trethewey 'Mother in Mind'

Event 4

Friday 15th September 2023, 10:00am | Spanish Barn, Torre Abbey, Torquay TQ2 5JE

'Mother in Mind' with Rachel Trethewey

We are really pleased to welcome Torbay writer Rachel Trethewey, author of Mothers of the Mind, a new book in which she describes the remarkable women who shaped Agatha Christie, Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath.

Tickets: £12

Read more
Agatha and America

Event 5

Friday 15th September 2023, 12:00pm | Spanish Barn, Torre Abbey, Torquay TQ2 5JE

Agatha and America

Christie super-fan Jaclyn is no stranger to the festival, being one half of the international crime-fighting duo Lurker-Linane Investigations, who organise the annual golfing-themed murder mystery events on the nearby Pitch and Putt course. She will be flying across the pond to speak about Agatha Christie and her American connections, including her family, her travels and the portrayal of Americans in her novels.

Tickets: £12

Read more

Kindly Supported by:

Project Partners: