International Agatha Christie Festival

17/09/2026

16/09/2026

Good morning and welcoming to Day 1 of the Agatha Christie Literary Festival.

The sun is shining and we can't wait to welcome everyone back to the Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey for our packed programme of talks.

Today's talks are all sold out, which has never happened before, so thank you so much for the support. We will be welcoming Lucy Foley interviewed by David Brawn, Amber Butchart, Dr Mark Aldridge and John Mallowan.

We have also announced our programme of free lunchtime events in the Murder Mystery Marquee, which starts with a quiz today, fun mystery bingo on Friday and our very special mystery guest on Saturday. Thank you so much to the Colwinston Trust for sponsoring this.

These events take place at 1.30pm and don't forget you can either bring your own lunch or pre-order a picnic lunch from our friends at Cantina. It's too late to order one today, but you can order them 24 hours in advance on the other days. Full details here:

https://www.iacf-uk.org/festival-2026/literary-festival/lunchtime-murder-club

We will also have free teas and coffees available in the marquee, courtesy of Wooga and the computer game June's Journey, featuring Hercule Poirot. There's a QR code in the tent for you to try the game.

We look forward to welcoming everyone very soon!

15/09/2026

Happy Birthday to Agatha Christie!

It's so wonderful that her remarkable legacy has brought people from right across the world to celebrate the Queen of Crime in her home town. Thanks you all so much for your support.

It's the final day of the Fringe Festival today and there's another packed programme on the cards, with events on steam trains and boats, excursions to Burgh Island, an event in the church where Agatha donated a stained-glass window, underground cinema in Kents Cavern and events at Greenway House and Gardens.

Tonight there are several theatrical treats on the cards, and literally something for everyone. The Mousetrap is on at the Princess Theatre Torquay (we saw it last night and the cast is excellent!) and the TOADS production of The Mirror Crack'd continues its run at the charming Little Theatre - Torquay.

For something completely different, we would highly recommend cult hit, Solve Along A Murder She Wrote at the Palace Theatre Paignton. Coming to us straight from a critically acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, this is a unique and hilarious night featuring a screening of an episode, with games, prizes and audience participation.

Tickets for all of these shows are available here:

https://www.iacf-uk.org/festival-2026/fringe-festival

14/09/2026

Welcome to Day 3 of the Agatha Christie Fringe Festival!

Today some people are attending Tea and Cake at Agatha's Church at 9.30am, while other people are going underground at Kents Cavern, visiting Greenway or heading over the Burgh Island for a special afternoon tea.

Don't forget that The Mousetrap opens at the Princess Theatre Torquay tonight, while The Mirror Crack'd starts it's run at The Little Theatre.

Whatever you are doing, have a wonderful day!

13/09/2026

Morning everyone and welcome to Day Two of the Agatha Christie Fringe Festival.

At 11am today there is a church service at All Saints' Church in Torre where Agatha was baptised. Everyone is welcome to join.

At 1pm, we have our Agatha in the Great War event at the Assembly Rooms at Torquay Town Hall. Apologies that some tickets stated this event starts at 2pm, this was a mistake with our ticketing software. It is definitely 1pm!

Tonight is our sold out boat trip, the AB Sea Murders, departing from Beacon Quay (in front of Below Decks) at 6.30pm.

In other news, we have now announced the activities for the Lunchtime Murder Club Events during the main Literary Festival. There will be a quiz on Wednesday, Murder Mystery Bingo on Friday and a very special mystery guest on Saturday. These free events will take place in the Murder Mystery Marquee outside of the Spanish Barn.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

12/09/2026

Hello everyone!

It's day one of the Fringe Festival and there's lots happening. We are really looking forward to travelling up to Dartmoor with some of you, while we hope everyone attending the Murder Mystery Afternoon Tea at the Palace Theatre has a wonderful time.

if you are looking for something fun to do, why not pick up a trail sheet from the Tourist Information Centre on Vaughan Parade and take part in the FREE Little Miss Marple and Mr Poirot Trail to win a badge.

We still have some tickets left for the amazing It's a Mystery one-man show at Torquay Museum tonight. We couldn't recommend this enough for fans of Agatha and murder mysteries in general!

Tickets here:

https://www.iacf-uk.org/festival-2026/fringe-festival/its-a-mystery

Have an amazing day everyone!

Tim Benzie, award-winning playwright and the acclaimed creator and host of Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote presents his new one-man show, a funny and engrossing deep dive into the enduring appeal of murder mysteries.

10/09/2026

The Agatha Christie Festival team had a fantastic time at the premier of Tommy and Tuppence in London last night.

We all absolutely loved the show and can't wait for everyone else to see it. It's really fun with a very witty script and the chemistry between the leads is amazing. We also got to meet the incredible Imelda Staunton, who plays Aunt Ada in the show.

Thanks to and Agatha Christie for inviting us!

09/09/2026

📚✨ It was wonderful to welcome the amazing professional storyteller Vanessa to Torquay Museum recently, as she brought the tale of Little Miss Marple: Muddle at the Vicarage to life!

This FREE storytelling session was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Colwinston Trust, Agatha Christie and HarperCollins Publishers UK. ❤️

🔎 And don’t forget, our Mr Poirot & Little Miss Marple Trail is currently taking place around the harbourside!

Pick up your FREE trail sheet from the Visitor Information Centre, find the characters hiding in the shop windows, then return your completed sheet to claim a prize. 🎁

Happy hunting! 🕵️‍♀️🔍

The English Riviera

08/09/2026

We have had a few more tickets become available for a handful of events. Grab them while you can and we can't wait to see everyone really soon!

The 11:30 from Paignton – 6 tickets
Afternoon Tea at Burgh Island (14 September) – 2 tickets
Afternoon Tea at Burgh Island (15 September) – 2 tickets
Aspects of Agatha – 1 ticket
Day tickets (Wednesday 16 September) – 1 ticket
Day Tickets (Friday 18 September) – 4 tickets
Day tickets (Saturday 19 September) – 2 tickets
A Century of Agatha Christie on Screen: Unseen – 1 ticket
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – The Centenary of a Masterpiece – 2 tickets
Agatha Christie’s Greatest Narrator – 2 tickets

https://www.iacf-uk.org/festival-2026