''Sleuth'' is a 1970 play written by Anthony Shaffer. The

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production received the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for Best Play, and

Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor and theatre director. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969 ...

and Keith Baxter received the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for Outstanding Performance. The play was adapted for feature films in 1972, 2007 and 2014.

Plot summary

The play is set in the

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

manor house of Andrew Wyke, an immensely successful mystery writer. Wyke's home reflects his obsession with the inventions and deceptions of fiction and his fascination with games and game-playing. He lures his wife's lover Milo Tindle to the house and convinces him to stage a robbery of her jewelry, a proposal that sets off a chain of events that leaves the audience trying to decipher where Wyke's imagination ends and reality begins. Shaffer said the play was partially inspired by one of his friends, composer Stephen Sondheim, whose intense interest in game-playing is mirrored by the character of Wyke, and by mystery writer

John Dickson Carr John Dickson Carr (November 30, 1906 – February 27, 1977) was an American author of detective stories, who also published using the pseudonyms Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson, and Roger Fairbairn. He lived in England for a number of years, and is ...

, whose stories featured complex plots and seemingly "impossible" crimes.

Production

Directed by Clifford Williams, ''Sleuth'' opened on 12 January 1970 at the Royal Theatre in Brighton, England then transferred from 12 February 1970 to St Martin's Theatre, London with

as Andrew Wyke and Keith Baxter as Milo Tindle. It had several changes of cast and venue in its run of 2,359 performances in the West End with

Marius Goring Marius Re Goring, (23 May 191230 September 1998) was a British stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' and as Julian Cr ...

as Andrew Wyke and

John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...

then Anthony Valentine as Milo Tindle having the longest run in the play between August 1971 and March 1973. It transferred to the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...

in March 1973 for seven months then finished its run at the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre on Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. Since 1989 the theatre has hosted the long running play ''The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by author, playw ...

in October 1975. The play also transferred to the United States and opened on Broadway on November 12, 1970, at the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...

, where it ran for 1,222 performances.

and Keith Baxter starred as Andrew Wyke and Milo Tindle, with other parts listed as played by Stanley Wright, Sydney Maycock and Liam McNulty. When Quayle left the production in 1972, he was succeeded by Paul Rogers, George Rose and Patrick Macnee. Baxter was succeeded by Brian Murray then

Donal Donnelly Donal Donnelly (6 July 1931 – 4 January 2010) was an Irish theatre and film actor. Perhaps best known for his work in the plays of Brian Friel, he had a long and varied career in film, on television and in the theatre. He lived in Ireland, th ...

Jordan Christopher Jordan Christopher (October 23, 1940 – January 21, 1996) was an American actor and singer. He was the lead singer of The Wild Ones, who recorded the original version of the rock classic " Wild Thing" after Christopher had left the band. Earl ...

and

Curt Dawson Curt Dawson (December 5, 1939 – January 13, 1985) was an American stage and television actor. Early life Curt Dawson was born December 5, 1939, in Russell, Kansas. He graduated from Emporia State University in 1960, and attended the Royal ...

Accolades

''Sleuth'' received the 1971

for Best Play, and received nominations for Best Direction of a Play (Clifford Williams) and Best Lighting Design (William Ritman). Anthony Quayle and Keith Baxter received the

for Outstanding Performance. ''Sleuth'' also received the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for Best Play.

Film adaptations

In 1972, Shaffer adapted his play for film, directed by

Joseph L. Mankiewicz Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career, and won both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best A ...

, starring

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

and

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

. Another film adaptation was released in 2007 with a screenplay by Harold Pinter. The 2007 film was directed by

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

, starring

and

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...

as Milo Tindle, originally played by Caine in the 1972 version. The play inspired Raja Dasgupta's Bengali film ''Tiktiki'', released in 2012. The film starred

Soumitra Chattopadhyay Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; 16 June 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of ...

and

Kaushik Sen Koushik Sen (born 19 September 1968) is an Indian actor of film, television and theatre based in Kolkata. He is the director of the well-acclaimed theatre group Swapnasandhani. He has won the BFJA awards for best supporting actor for his perform ...

. The play was also the basis for the film '' Tamanna''. Whilst some of the interactions between the two men are similar, the film has roles for not just Wyke's wife, but also his second, younger wife, the Tindle character's object of desire, and the outcome for the characters is darker. The milieu is Pakistan's film industry, Lollywood in its dying days, and is used an allegory of wider issues. The dialogue, in Urdu, and the scenario are adapted in numerous ways for both Pakistani and Islamic culture. In 2022, Bengali director Dhrubo Banerjee's first web series, titled ''

Tiktiki ''Tiktiki'' is a Bengali thriller streaming television series directed by Dhrubo Banerjee as his directorial debut in the OTT space. It was released on 18 March 2022 in Hoichoi OTT platform under the banner of SVF Entertainment. It stars Kaushi ...

'', which stars

Kaushik Ganguly Kaushik Ganguly (born 4 August 2012) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor in Bengali cinema. Multiple National Award winner Actor-Director, Kaushik Ganguly is known for making films that explore various aspects sexuality, like ' ...

and

Anirban Bhattacharya Anirban Bhattacharya (born 7 October 1986) is an Indian actor, theatre actor, singer and director. His first successful theatre production was ''Debi Sarpamasta'', written by Manoj Mitra, directed by Debesh Chattopadhyay. His other notable work ...

in the lead roles. Inspired by the play, the series was release on

Hoichoi Hoichoi is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned and maintained by SVF Entertainment Pvt Ltd with headquarters in Kolkata, India. It was launched on 20 September 2017. Hoichoi is currently available f ...

, on 18 March 2022. The series is also announced to be the platform's 100th original series.

References

External links

* * * * {{TonyAwardBestPlay 1947-1975 1970 plays Broadway plays Drama Desk Award-winning plays British plays adapted into films Tony Award-winning plays Comedy thriller plays Two-handers Culture in Wiltshire