INTERNATIONAL AGATHA CHRISTIE FESTIVAL 2017
With a brand-new programme of events from across the globe reflecting Agatha Christie’s passion for travel and culture, five day International Agatha Christie Festival returns to Torbay (based at Torre Abbey) between 13-17 September 2017, in time for the novelist’s birthday on the 15 September.
Capturing both her proud internationalist and outward-looking spirit as much as her love of South Devon, the festival line-up has been inspired by Agatha Christie’s archaeological memoir ‘Come, tell me how you live’, published in 1946. The account tells of the travels she made to Iraq and Syria in the 1930s with her husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan. For Christie, this began a fascination with the region that continued over three decades and remained an inspiration throughout her life.
“IACF is a celebration of literature in all its forms – as the expression of stories and experiences through poetry, theatre, visual art and music. We want to bring audiences closer to the world through Agatha Christie’s eyes, and her own curiosities and fascinations for people, both from her beloved South Devon as well as from the different cultures that she was so inspired by across the world. The festival is a wonderful opportunity to give a platform both to the amazing artists working in Torbay and South Devon and the communities they work with, as well as artists across the world, inviting them to tell their stories as well as be inspired and to celebrate the extraordinary cultural heritage of the area.”
The festival is part of a cultural revolution that is currently happening in and around Torbay, which is being led by the Torbay Culture Board. The aim is to transform cultural provision and engagement in the region, with support from Arts Council England and a recent grant of £1.2m from the new Great Place Scheme.
“There is so much richness and potential in Torbay as an area. It has always harboured and inspired the minds of artists, writers, scientists and thinkers. This festival can nurture and build the ambitions of young local artists and really put Torbay on the map as a creative hub for the South West. With projects like The Tale also taking place in September, we are delighted to be working with so many partners across Torbay to make the area a destination of culture and inspiration, both to celebrate Agatha Christie as one of the world’s most well-known literary icons and to support new arts initiatives and collaborations that put Torbay on the cultural world stage.”
A full list of events for the five-day festival as well as a range of week, weekend and day tickets ranging from free entry to £150, are available from www.iacf-uk.org or from the Torre Abbey Box Office. You can also read all about the festival at Torbay Culture's publication, The Shorely.
