The mischievous Miss Marple is a dream role for any muture actress and Pinner director Paul Botly tells me he was spoilt for choice when auditioning for Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced, which Belmont Theatre Company brings to The Pump House Theatre this month.

“We’ve got a company full of Miss Marples,” jokes Paul. “I made chose Mary Woolf. She’s a very energetic person and is very aware and acute. Nothing gets past her in a similar way to how crafty and mischievous Miss Marple is. She’d come to rehearsals with just a bit of costume; maybe a hat and even before the full dress rehearsal I can see she’s going to be fantastic.”

Paul has been trawling the internet for the production, which marks the 120th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s birth, and tells me he has found a lot of activitiy there with people blogging events. He even discovered a recipe for the Delicious Death which causes the death of one of the characters in the play.

“We’re going to use two cakes and recycle the slices,” says Paul. “Every time we cut a slice out of one it goes down the production line of cake. There are more than eight performances so we need a lot of cake really.”

Despite his exhaustive research, Paul says he is not “maniacal” about Agatha Christie preferring the works of Arthur Miller. Paul joined Belmont in 1982 and has previously directed Gaslight, Death of a Salesman and The Ghost Train for the company. He previously played Judge Danforth in The Crucible at Pump House and has also appeared with Belmont in The Odd Couple, Twelve Angry Men, Oliver and A Christmas Carol, which was one of his first performances.

“I played the ghost of Christmas Future the guy in black who points to the gravestone only I had a big cloak on so I couldn’t see where I was going and pointed in wrong direction. I also nearly fell off the stage but thankfully it all got better after that.”

A Murder is Announced is at The Pump House Theatre, Local Board Road, Watford from October 13-16. Details: 0845 521 3453, www.belmonttheatre.org.uk