Akhnaton: A Play In Three Acts

by Agatha Christie

A Play by Christie about the young Egyptian King Akhnaton, his beautiful wife Nefertiti, and his doomed attempt to replace the old religion of ancient Egypt with one based on love. A relatively uncommon Christie title, written by her during the time she wrote "Death on the Nile" (1936).

Genres: Agatha Christie, Plays, Mystery, Egypt, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics

157 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Alan (The Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pharoah who invented Monotheism?
A review of the William Collins & Sons hardcover (1973) of the original play written in 1937 but never performed.

CAPTAIN. [of Soldiers, reading from a proclamation] Now, therefore, throughout the land, the name of the criminal Akhnaton shall be blotted out. His name shall perish from the land in loathing and horror. His images in stone shall be destroyed, his name erased. So let this criminal be forgotten and let him disappear from the memory of men.

Akhnaton is that rarity among Agatha Christie's works in that it is about Ancient Egypt and is not a crime or mystery play. It has never had a commercial production. Its non-commercial aspects are further complicated by its required 11 scene changes and 20 speaking parts.

The play tells the story of Akhnaton (c 1351 - c 1336 BC), a pharoah of the 18th Dynasty (c 1550 - 1291 BC) who overhauled the polytheistic religion of Ancient Egypt with the worship of the one sun god Aton. The Royal Wife Nefertiti (c 1370 - 1330 BC) is famous in her own right and may have been a joint ruler. Their son (Christie has him as a son-in-law) Tutankhamun (c 1342 - 1323 BC) is famous as the successor who restored the polytheistic beliefs and became even more well known through the discovery of his tomb and its many treasures.

Agatha Christie makes adaptations to the story. Sometimes these are for dramatic effect and sometimes they may be due to her own or the general limited knowledge of the history at the time, although she was assisted in her research by Egyptologist Stephen Ranulph Kingdom Glanville. The fall of Akhnaton is portrayed as the result of a conspiracy by the priests of the former head god Amon. Other friends and family members are also shown as betrayers. Akhnaton is portrayed almost as a Christ-like figure preaching peace and love and unity in a world formerly ruled by conquest and plunder and the subservience of other tribes and nations.

In the end it becomes a tragedy, as Akhnaton's rule is usurped by the conspiracy and his name is condemned to be erased from history by the priesthood and his successors. Starting in the late 19th century, archeology has uncovered what little is now known.


Statue of Akhnaton. Image sourced from Wikipedia by CC BY-SA 2.5, Link

Bust of Nefertiti (c. 1345 BC) attributed to Thutmose (in the play Christie shows Akhnaton himself as the sculptor). Image sourced from Wikipedia by Philip Pikart - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link .

This full length play counts against my Complete Agatha Christie binge read goal, so I now have 2 novels (including 1 remaining Mary Westmacott), 1 book of letters and 1 autobiography left to go. I have recently added The Grand Tour: Letters and Photographs from the British Empire Expedition 1922 (2012) to the list, having previously overlooked it. My copy of Akhnaton from the Toronto Public Library was an original 1973 hardcover edition which has probably seen very few loans as it is still in excellent condition for a 53+ year old library book.

Soundtrack
Akhnaton, in its modern spelling of Akhnaten, was created as the opera Akhnaten (1983) by American composer Philip Glass. You can listen to the 1987 recording of the entire opera on Spotify here and watch a clip of its aria Hymn to the Sun on YouTube here from the 2019 Metropolitan Opera production.

A photograph from the 2019 Metropolitan Opera production picturing the climactic moment of Akhnaten (played by Anthony Roth Costanzo) ascending the staircase to the god Aten during the "Hymn to the Sun" aria. Image sourced from MetOpera.

Trivia, Links and Reckoning
The full length theatrical plays by Agatha Christie which I included in the Complete Binge are listed below. This list does not include the shorter 1-act radio or theatre plays. It also does not include the plays which were posthumously adapted from Christie's novels by other writers. For a complete selection of all the related Agatha Christie theatrical works see Concord Theatricals / Samuel French under the search for Agatha Christie.
1. Black Coffee: A Mystery Play in Three Acts (1930), reviewed here.
2. The Secret of Chimneys (1931) a lost play rediscovered in 2003, reviewed here.
3. A Daughter's a Daughter (1930s but not staged until 1956), reviewed here.
4. Akhnaton (1937) reviewed above.
5. Murder on the Nile (1942), reviewed here.
6. And Then There Were None: A Mystery Play in Three Acts (1943), reviewed here.
7. Appointment with Death: A Stage Play (1945), reviewed here.
8. Towards Zero: A Stage Play (1945) Version #1 reviewed here
9. The Hollow: A Play (1951) reviewed here.
10. The Mousetrap, A Play In Two Acts (1952), reviewed here.
11. Witness For The Prosecution. A Play (1953), reviewed here.
12. Spider's Web: A Stage Play (1954), reviewed here.
13. Towards Zero: A Stage Play (1956) Version #2, reviewed here.
14. Verdict (1958), reviewed here.
15. The Unexpected Guest: A Play In Two Acts (1958), reviewed here.
16. Go Back for Murder (1960) reviewed here.
17. Fiddlers Three (1972) reviewed here.

[Tariq Alferis · Rating 4 out of 5]

.‎المُصنف الأدبي الوحيد لتلك الكاتبة الكبيرة الغير بوليسي، مسرحية أخناتون، صاحب الإنقلاب على كهنة أمون، أول مُوحد للآلهة، ثالث مرة نجرب نقرأ مسرحية لكن آجاثا كريستي رائعة، وقامت آجاثا بكتابتها في مصر وبالتحديد في مدينة الأقصر،تتكلم عن التوحيد عن الجمال عن الفن عن كهنة آمون عن السلام في قلب اخناتون، عن جمال نفرتيتي‫.‬
‎قامت الكاتبة بكتابة المسرحية ووضعتها في الدُرج المكتب لمدة أربعين سنة حتي تم نشرها ‫..

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t too sure how to classify this one – it’s a play that’s based on a true story, the story of the renegade pharaoh Akhnaton, who tried to change the Ancient Egyptians’ belief system to focus on just one god, the god of the sun. Oh, and his son was a pretty famous pharaoh called Tutankhamun, who’s a character in the story.

It actually makes for a truly fascinating read, especially if you’re interested in Egyptology – I am, but only as a passing interest and not as a scholar, and I thought it was fantastic. It’s made particularly interesting when you consider that Christie befriended Howard Carter, the archaeologist who unearthed the boy prince Tutankhamun, and she also married an expert on Egypt and its history. It looks like the two of us have some shared interests – that’s fricken awesome!

[Nö Ğå · Rating 3 out of 5]

مسرحيه تحكي عن اخناتون وفتره حكمه
كل ماذكره التاريخ عن اخناتون انه اول من دعي لعباده اتون
كان عهده عهد مساواه وتسامح وازدهرت فيه كل الفنون وكان يعيش حياه تسامح
عهد فيه الي ايقاف عباده امون وكهنه امون ونفوذهم... امر بانهاء كل الالهه من اوزيس واوزوريس وامون وغيرهم من الالهه
ع الجانب الاخر فقدت مصر فيه اسمها وقوتها واضمحلت فيه امبراطوريته

اكتر ماآلمني ان نفرتيتي هي من سقته السم بيديها وقالت اجعل كل تماثيلي يتم هدم يدين نفرتيتي الملعونتين.. كم احبته واخلصت له

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, I've been reading Agatha Christie books for years, and have been an amateur Egyptologist for even longer. So how did this book escape my notice for so long???

So much has been discovered in just the last ten years about the 18th Dynasty that much of what Christie writes in this book is out of date, but it's still a good story. It reminds me of the fact that even though technology has changed thousands of times over, people haven't changed at all. Agatha Christie knew this, without a doubt, which is why her books are still being read almost 40 years after her death.

[Ahmed Aboraya · Rating 4 out of 5]

تحفة ❤️

[Maha Rashwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

تجربة أدبية مسرحية وحيدة تظهر اجاثا كريستي كاديبة متميزة بعيدا عن قصص الجريمة، عمل رائع يعد إعادة اكتشاف لكاتبته

[Fay AlFalah · Rating 5 out of 5]

اسم الكتاب: اخناتون - Akhnaton
اسم الكاتب: أجاثا كريستي - Agatha Christie
عدد الصفحات:


نبذة عن المسرحية،،
كتبت "أجاثا كريستي" هذه المسرحيّة عام 1937، وهو العمل الوحيد لها غير بوليسي وكتبته بالتزامن مع روايتها "موت فوق النيلDeath on The Nile " ولكن أجاثا كريستي أقفلت عليها لذا لم تنشر إلا بعد مرور 40 عاماً من كتابتها، تم استخدام المسرحية من قبل بعض المجموعات من الهواة والمسارح، ولكن نادرًا ما تم عرضها.

• مراجعتي،،
قصة جميلة ورائعة وجذابة جداً أحببتها ، لم أعلم بوجود هذه المسرحية للكاتبة أجاثا كريستي إلا مصادفة لذا قررت أن لا أدعها تفلت مني وأنا التي أعتدتُ إعادة قراءة كتبها البوليسية، أما هذه المسرحية فهي مختلفة جداً قصة تتحدث عن الملك أخناتون وسنوات حكمه وما هي كانت اعتقاداته ومن خلالها تثبتت لدي معلومات أكثر وصادفت قرائتي لهذه القصة 4 نوفمبر 2022 مئوية أكتشاف القرن مقبرة توت عنخ آمون على يد عالم الآثار البريطاني هوارد كارتر يوم 4 نوفمبر 1922 !

~اقتباسات،،
1- "لا يليق أت تركل امرءأً وهو ملقى على الأرض!" ~ حورمحب
2- "لا تنسى إننا نحكم هؤلاء القوم لمصلحتهم، فبدون قبضتنا القوية هم كفيلون بأن يدمروا أنفسهم بمائة معركة قبلية حقيرة!" ~ كبير الكهنة
3- الهدم أيسر من البناء، و ليس من الحكمة خرق التقاليد! ~ كبير الكهنة
4- إذا لم تترجم الأفكار إلى أعمال، فما هو جدوى الأفكار؟ ~أخناتون
5- أني أحلم بالماضي، وأحلم أحياناً بالمستقبل، ولكن الماضي أكثر أمناً. ~أخناتون
6- من الحكمة دائماً أن تلتزم الصمت إلى أن يحين الوقت. ~اخناتون
7- إنني أحلم بمملكة يعيش فيها البشر في سلام و إخاء، أما الأقطار الأجنبية فترد إلى أهلها ليحكموها بأنفسهم، وأحلم بكهنة أقل عدداً وبقرابين أقل، وبدلاً من النساء الكثيرات، أحلم بامرأة واحدة، امرأة بلغت من الجمال الحد الذي يجعل الناس يتحدثون بعد ألوف السنين عن جمالها الفذ. ~ اخناتون
8- إن دهاء الافعوان أجدى من زئير الأسد. ~ ملكة تي
9- إن العصفور يغرد في القفص، ولكنه خليق أن يغرد بصورة أفضل في الهواء الطلق. ~اخناتون
10- الجمال الحقيقي لا يمكن أن يموت. ~اخناتون
11- في القصور لا يسمع المرء إلا ما يحب أن يسمع! ~ملكة تي
12- "من ذا الذي يهتم بجمال الأفكار؟ ليس الرقيق الزراعيون، لأنهم يهتمون بالخبر. أم الجنود؟ إنهم لا يفكرون إلا بالترقي. والكهنة لا يهتمون إلا بالثراء والسلطان. ~ الملكة تي
13- انا وأنت امرأتان يا بنيتي، ولدينا حكمة النساء، وجميع الرجال أطفال، مجرد أطفال، ولا بد أن يقادوا، ونلاطفهم بالكلمات الناعمة والقبلات، وبذلك ننقلهم من عواقب حمقهم. ~الملكة تي
14- إن حديث النساء على حماقتهن وجهلهن كان أحياناً لا يخلو من الفائدة، فالنساء يا عزيزي "بتاحموز" يمثلن تمثيلاً كافياً ما يمكن أن نسميه "قوة الرأي العام". ~الكاهن الأعظم
15- وماذا تتوقعين من عقرب غير اللدغ. ~ اخناتون
16- ما لم تحكم رقابتك بإستمرار، ستجد القوي يستغل الضعيف، والقوانين الخيرة تلتوي لمصلحة خربي الذمة. ~ حور محب
17- ما قيمة صدور قانون إن لم يوجد من يتولى مراقبة تنفيذة؟ ~ الملكة تي
18- الجمل الجمال الجمال، ما كل هذا الجنون بالجمال؟ ثم ماذا يمكن أن يصنع الجمال للعالم آخر الأمر؟ إنه لا يستطيع أن يجعل المحصولات تنمو، ولا يقدر أن يمنح العدالة للمظلومين، وفي ذهني أن اقليماً حسن الإدارة مضبوط الأمن على يد الشرطة يستطيع فيه الناس أن يزرعوا محصولاتهم غير خائفين، ويمضون في حياتهم آمنين، أكبر قيمة من عشر تماثيل أو من قصر حافل باللوحات البارزة والمعلقات المنسوجة. ~ حورمحب
19- إن مقابلة العنف بالعنف خليقٌ أن يولد مزيداً من العنف.
20- المرء يجب ألا يعد موضع راحته فحسب، بل يجب أن يعد روحه أيضاً.~اخناتون
21- ليس كل انسان يستطيع أن يعيش في الحقيقة. ~نفرتيتي
22- إن لنا نحن الكهنة وسائلنا الخاصة، نحن كحيوان الخلد، نعمل تحت الأرض إن سرنا هو النتظيم. ~الكاهن الأكبر
23- إن لكل امرئ موطن ضعفه الذي ينكسر عنده. ~حورمحب
24- فعندما يندفع النسر في الطيران لا يستطيع أن يكبحه شيء! ~نفرتيتي
25- ايحب المرء ويدمر؟ ~حورمحب
26- عندما يكون الضوء أقوى مما ينبغي، لا نستطيع أن نرى ما نصنع، فلنواصل العمل، لأنه لا بد من إنجازه. ~البنّاء

[Tania · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a play by Agatha Christie based on the actual reign of Akhnaton in ancient Egypt, and proves that Christie should stick to mystery stories. An un-producible play with numerous extravagant sets, stilted dialog and almost no dramatic tension.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review on my book blog: http://quirkyreader.livejournal.com/2...

[Eman Hafez · Rating 4 out of 5]

كنت متخيلاها لغز قبل ما اقراها واتفاجئت إنها مسرحية .. أجاثا كريستي قادرة على إبهارك حتى في مسرحية

[Klarysa Crape · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tragic play of who we know as "Akhenaten," the heretic king, prior to King Tut. This is one of Agatha Christie's plays that actually does not focus on a murder, but instead revolves around the struggle for what is right and just in a nation's leader, as well as divided loyalties between one's leaders and one's country. As someone who loves ancient Egypt, I thoroughly loved reading this play and imagining life in the 1300s BC, when a new king, Akhenaten, tries to uproot the traditional Egyptian religious customs (polytheistic; believes in the god Amun/Amon) and suddenly replace it with his own preferences (monotheistic; believes in the sole god Aten). The play analyzes how such a deep and sudden change has drastically negative impacts across the country; it is impossible to decree an entirely new, radical culture and religion across a nation and expect people to believe in it as well. Furthermore, Christie does a fantastic job illustrating the emotions of the cast, particularly showing how Akhenaten is the sole person to truly understand his new religion--something that even those closest to him can't understand, which only serves to alienate him from public opinion.

One of the key themes of the play is divided loyalty between people and ideals. Horemheb, a general and trusted advisor to Akhenaten, is the epitome of a loyal general: he doesn't feel emotions, and he acts on instincts to serve his king. However, as Akhenaten estranges himself from Egypt's pride and historical image, Horemheb feels called to eventually sever his loyalty for the good of his country. It begs the question: can anyone ever be truly loyal to a person when people are bound to change and evolve? What once was a true loyalty to a person became unsustainable due to changes in personality. There come times when we must choose between being loyal to people we share history and memories with--and are inadvertently clinging to those past memories while avoiding acknowledgement of their changed behaviors--and our higher ideals of preserving the state of being (our country) we know and love. Such themes like this stand the test of time, making this play just as relatable today as it was when written in 1937 (but published in 1973).

The play ends with a quote that sums up Akhenaten's rule: "When the light's too strong you can't see what you're doing," which serves to emphasize that when people become such fanatics about their beliefs, they become lost and disconnected from the real world.

Overall, a wonderful historic play that presents a vivid recounting of an intriguing, significant time in ancient Egypt.

Fun side note: love how Agatha Christie met the man who unearthed King Tut's tomb! I'm sure the excitement of that fueled her research into the themes and settings for this play. Also, what a great play to come from her time spent in archaeological digs in Egypt.

Second note: if you don't know about this time period in Egypt, I would recommend briefly doing some research on Akhenaten and the Aten prior to reading this to provide more historical context.

[David Campton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although not published until the mid 1970s this unstaged play dates from the mid 1930s, and as such it may not do much for Christie's reputation as a dramatist, given its didactic, undramatic and formal nature, but it does offer a time-capsule-like insight into the period. Not only does it capture the prevailing interest in the "heretic" Pharaoh (to use an anachronistic term that Christie herself avoids) and his wife Nefertiti following the Flinders-Petrie excavation of Amarna, with the allusions of pre-figuring Christianity that would find full-bloom in the 1950s Hollywood film "The Egyptian", it also picks up the emerging disquiet about western imperialism and the interwar issues about the limits of pacifism, together with questions about loyalty to King or Country that were alive in Britain at this period of the abdication crisis. None of these are fully fleshed out - that was not the style of theatre at the time unlike later agit-prop/theatre workshop productions. Sadly the characters aren't fully fleshed out either (another feature of the theatre of the time with its hangover from Victorian melodrama) and the complex political and family history of the time (which fascinates me and was what first drew me to the piece) is understandably simplified, probably both for dramatic purposes and so that it might not transgress the social mores of the time.

[Hoda · Rating 5 out of 5]

من أروع ما قرأت فى الدراما التاريخية خصوصا انها الرواية الوحيدة الغير بوليسية التى كتبتها أجاثا كريستى وهى تعيش فى الاقصر مما دل على تعلقها بالحضارة الفرعونية وحبها لمصر..
أيضا الترجمة كانت فى أسلوب رائع
تركيز الرواية كان على دور اخناتون فى حكم مصر واغفلت قليلا دور زوجته نفرتيتى فى الحكم
الرواية جعلت القارىء يتعاطف مع اخناتون ونواياه الطيبة ودعوته للتوحيد والحب والسلام ولكنها اظهرت ان الشعب بالكامل لا يعجبه فكر اخناتون وان الشعب متمسك بمعتقداته وان الاله يجب ان يكون فى شكل صنم وان الشعب بدون قوانين صارمة فإنه سيتجه إلى العنف والسرقة والنهب، وأظن أنه تحامل وتعميم على الشعب فى هذه الفترة
أعجبت بشخصية حور محب وولائه الشديد لصديقه وانتمائه لوطنهولكن كيف وهو مقرب جدا للملك لم يكن يقدر على اقناع اخناتون بارسال جيوش لوقف العنف فى البلاد

من أجمل ما قال اخناتون:
"مصر الامبراطورية التى لا تغيب عنها الشمس"
"لان مصر عظيمة ، فإن عيون العالم كله عليها. ومثلما تصنع مصر تحتذى الامم الصغرى حذوها"
من أجمل ما قال حور محب فى حواره الاخير مع اخناتون:
"لم يمت حبى لك، ولكن تحول بيننا أشلاء موتى ، ومدن مخربة ،واسم مصر الذى انحطت مكانته. وفى نهاية المطاف ، لئن كنت الملك ، فما أنت إلا فرد واحد ، ومصــــــــر هى التى يقام لها الوزن! وطنــــــــــــى".

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm deeply interested in Akhenaten and even I found this a bit of a slog as plays go. Christie portrays him as a mystic peacenik more interested in art than governance, and who runs Egypt into the ground with his pacifism. I'm also not sure if I'm reading too much into her portrayal of relationship between Akhenaten and Horemheb, which has homoerotic overtones.

I do have a whole book on Akhenaten that I haven't yet read, and I really should, to get an idea of what recent scholarship says about him. I suspect he was a lot shrewder than AC portrays him - to be able to crush the power of the Amun cult in the beginning must have taken some doing, and it probably enriched the pharaonic coffers a great deal and strengthened his own power base by removing another. But I don't actually know a huge amount about him other than the whole monotheism thing, so I could be wrong on this.

Overall, I think it's a good thing this play was never staged - there is absolutely zero humour in it and I think it would have been rather dreary, especially since everyone basically knows how it all ended up.

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agatha Christie, due to her travels & assistance to archaeologist husband, Max Mallowan, had a wonderful descriptive way with her writings about the Middle East & Egypt. This book is a bit different in that it's a play, so not as descriptive. I have read it before, but it was a different perspective this time as I've just finished helping my grandson with his World Cultures Ancient Egyptian Unit. I'd always admired Akhnaton for his attempt to change polytheism in Egypt over to monotheism as well as for other of his innovations, but after this reading of this play again now, I see how the Egyptian people may not have been ready for this idea & how it might have worked to disrupt their lives & the structure of the Egyptian governing force, how they may have reacted & rebelled when greedy factions & outside enemies took advantage of the Pharaoh's nonviolence/non-punishment policy. Egypt has always been a fascinating place to me & I enjoyed the play very much.

[Mehedi Sarwar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different kind of play written by Agatha Christie. Her other plays are related to crime and murder mystery, on the other hand Akhenaton is a historical tragedy.

In ancient Egypt multiple gods were worshipped. The high priest of the main God Amon had huge power and stronghold over everything, even the kings. Pharaoh king Akhenaton wanted to unite the people of the whole world through love. Instead of invade and conquering Akhenaton chose to be loving ruler and he wanted to bring everyone under his new ways. He also believed in monotheism and as a result temples if the old god were getting involved.

As Akhenaton gets older, Egypt started to fall into chaos. People started to think that the old gods are angry to be banished. Seeing the opportunity, the priests of the old gods started rebellion and the kings own people are turning against him.

Very well written.

[Salma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pleasant surprise to know that the Agatha Christie took interest in my favorite historical figure and devoted a whole play for him outside of her usual niche of mystery. And although I read a translated version it remains profound and beautifully written, poetic and touching. Very interesting to see her ficitionlization of history and how the events unfold through her vision.
And while Akhnaton and Nefertiti could feel one dimensional, passive, and too idealized at times, they never lose their humanity and they still play their measure roles in the conflict. Also that ending ended me, Christie took liberty of the ambiguity regrading this era and labored a very beautifully tragic Shakespearean ending, effectively made me tear up
I'm grateful for this reading experience paired with one of my favorite pieces Akhnaten opera by Philip Glass

[Kirsten Simkiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoy Agatha Christie’s works in general, but this play just could not hold my attention at all. Akhenaton, for whom the play is named, is written at the best of times like a preachy teenager who may or may not be high. Everyone else in the play has more interesting story lines, if I’m honest, but he takes up the bulk of it as one might expect. His monologues about the light of Aton go on for pages at times. They really did put me off the script to the point where I wanted to put it down or skip them entirely, since they all roughly said about the same thing.

I can’t speak much to the historical accuracy of Akhenaton’s life, but it is probable our understanding of Egyptian history has radically been improved since this was written in 1937.

All in all, not one I could recommend.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I wanted was for Christie to breathe life into the characters and create a good story from an era that still has so many questions. I did have a hard time buying in to the story at the start because there are many inaccuracies. The inaccuracies do suit a coherent story, and there are many other things that really do suit everything that I know. The Akhenaten that Christie writes is consistent with the man who would have decorated his palace with beautiful paintings of wildlife, who is always shown near his wife, clearly in love, and who wrote such beautiful poetry.

[Mlk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play belongs to the writer “AGATH CHRISTI” who is famous in writing police stories, but that was an exception!
She was so interested in the cultures of different countries and especially The Egyptian culture so she wrote this play.
It talks about the Egyptian pharaoh “ Akenaton “ and his wife “Nefertiti” , and how they ruled Egypt and tried to change the religion of their people.
For me it was more fun to read their story as a play written by my favourite writer than reading it in some fact websites.

[Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

well as an egyptian i enjoyed this a lot
i felt proud finding that agatha wrote about ancient egyptians
she honestly wrote about one of the periods egypt was ruled by akhnaton with great sensation
u can feel u r one of them while reading
i really loved that and i hate what was hapenning in old egypt from rituals and stupid relegious doings
it is really bad to see an idiot ruling ur country
they are so much nowadays

[Renad Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

للمرة الثانية أقرأ رواية لاجاثا كريستي بعيدة عن أدب الجريمة.
رواية اخناتون تتكلم فيها عن الحب و الجمال و من الواضح تأثرها الشديد بمصر الفرعونية و تاريخها
المليء بالأحداث المثيرة و الغامضة في نفس الوقت فحتى وقت قريب كانت مقبرة نفرتيتي غير معروف مكان دفنها و هل فعلاً تم التخلص من اخناتون بالقتل على يد نفرتيتي ام اختلط الواقع و الخيال في رؤية أجاثا كريستي.......
و لكن تبقى أجاثا كريستي الملكة المتوجة على عرش أدب الجريمة

[Maged Mossalam · Rating 3 out of 5]

سيرة رجل مهم و عظيم و مختلف و مختلف عليه و قلم كاتبة موهوبة متمكنة سواء كتبت سيرة رجل خالد مثل اخناتون او كتبت قصص بوليسية شيقة
مسرحية عظيمة و فينال عظيم -في بضع كلمات أوضحت الكاتبة قرءاتها لمحنة اخناتون و العظة و العبرة من سيرته و هي بالتأكيد رؤية نبيهة!
و رغم ان الكتاب يبدوا قديم لان فيه ما عفا عنه الزمن و غيره و استعيض عنه من معلومات و احدات الا الدراما و الاثارة و العبرة و حتى العبرة كلها أشياء أجادت صنعها الماهرة و عظيمة الشأن في حرفة الكتابة و القص اجاثا كريستي

[Hamza · Rating 3 out of 5]

خلافا لكل ما كتبته اجاثا كريستي, مسرحية اخناتون هاته ليست بقصة بوليسية نكتشف في نهايتها هوية القاتل بل هي عرض متسرسل لشخصية احد ابرز الفراعنة الذين حكموا مصر القديمة الا وهو الملك اخناتون العظيم الذي نادى بالتوحيد في زمن كانت الوثنية سائدة في البلاد, المسرحية مملة بعض الشيء لكنها جعلتتني انبهر بشخصيته ومحبته لكل مظاهر الفن والجمال وكذلك تعلقه بصديقه المقرب حورمحب رغم اختلافهما الشديد

[Dayane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como amante de tudo relacionado ao Egito, essa leitura foi extremamente prazerosa. Não é 100% factual, mas é poética e tem um nível bem razoável de respeito ao que historicamente ocorreu. Achei particularmente bonitas as falas de Akhenaton direcionadas ao deus Aton.

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 4 out of 5]

أسلوب Agatha Christie في إخناتون بيفكرني بواحد بيحكي حكاية وهو بيطبخ، مش مركز بالكامل بس كل حاجة طالعة صح. مفيش ترتيب صارم ولا خطة واضحة، وفي نفس الوقت مفيش حاجة ضايعة. ده نوع من الإتقان بيتعلم بالسنين. لمن بيحب الحكي الدافي، ولمن بيحتاج بنية هندسية.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed reactions to this book. Sometimes I loved it, other times I was bored or really hated it. In the end I was crying sad tears.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I’ve read a play. This was interesting and well written. Makes me curious to read more about the time period and the kings.

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crítica | Akhenaton, de Agatha Christie: https://www.planocritico.com/critica-...