AFTER its run at the York Guildhall Council Chamber, Theatre Mill's revival of Agatha Christie's Witness For The Prosecution has transferred to the Leeds Civic Hall for more jury service in an historic Yorkshire chambers.

Granted permission by the Agatha Christie estate to be the first company to stage a site-specific production of her most celebrated courtroom drama, the York company is now presenting its in-the-round performances in a location three times as large as the York chamber.

Directed by artistic director Samuel Wood, a former associate director at Shakespeare’s Globe, the production marks the 125th anniversary of Christie's birth and is a revival of last summer's premiere at the York Guildhall.

New to the cast this summer are Niall Costigan and Gordon Kane, two actors with associations with York Theatre Royal. Costigan plays Leonard Vole, who stands accused of murdering a rich widow; Kane is his defence lawyer, Sir Wilfrid Robarts, who must take a shocking witness testimony and impassioned outbursts from the dock in his stride, as he presents a young man’s fight to escape the hangman’s noose.

York Press:

Niall Costigan, right, as the defendant Leonard Vole in Witness For The Prosecution. Picture: Tom Jackson

Wood could have taken an "if ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy to re-directing Witness this season but believed his production could retain the spirit of the first year while benefiting from the input of new cast members.

Enter Niall. "I'm just taking it as a play without any preconceptions of what went before, so we didn't really talk about that in rehearsals," he says. "It doesn't feel like a re-staging; it feels like a new play."

Gordon, a Scottish actor long resident in York, says: "It's a nice feeling coming to something completely fresh and know nothing about it, so Niall and I asked different questions in rehearsals than those thought of by the previous actors in our roles.

"I hadn't done any Agatha Christie plays before, nor had Niall, but during rehearsals we could see how much fun we would have with it. All your preconceptions about Agatha Christie go out of the window. I've been surprised by the fantastic strength of the writing; it's of the highest level; she was a wonderful craftswoman."

Niall says the atmosphere of a council chamber is ideal for Christie's courtroom drama: "The stage is the whole room, though we just have a small area we walk around in.

"When I'm taking the stand or in the dock, being in the council chamber makes it feel like a real courtroom space, so your character really lives through it, sitting there in Act Two listening to the whole thing going on in court."

Niall is enjoying portraying a slippery fellow who may not be all he seems. "I think it's important not to be judgemental about the character you're playing; as I say in the play, 'I'm just very misunderstood'."

What is the truth? You must witness Christie's play to find out.

Theatre Mill presents Witness For The Prosecution at Leeds Civic Hall, Portland Crescent, Leeds, until August 30. Box office: leedsgrandtheatre.com or 0844 848 2700.