Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 5 April 2025
Reviewed by Louise Ford
4****
A moral dilemma in Poirot’s most perplexing case to date.
I confess to having a soft spot for Agatha Christie and her Belgium detective. In this novel the murder in the “locked room” in an English Manor House is transported overseas into a murder on a train stranded in the snow. An ingenious plot device which adapts surprisingly well to the stage. This adaptation is by Ken Ludwig and directed by Lucy Bailey.
It’s 1934 and we are in Istanbul, at perhaps the best restaurant in town, waiting to head to the railway station. We are all bound for Calais on The Orient Express. With spats and a modest moustache Poirot enters the stage. In this production Poirot is played by Michael Maloney. He commands the stage as Hercule complete with affectations, mannerisms and, of course, the little grey cells.
Poirot has received an urgent message which requires him to travel to London immediately, unfortunately the train is, unexpectedly, fully booked. Fortunately Poirot runs into his old friend, and Director of the railway line, M Bouc (Bob Barrett). M Bouc agrees to give up his first class sleeper to Poirot. And we are all aboard the train heading towards the Yugoslavian border.
Our travelling companions are a Cosmopolitan group, some of whom may not be who they seem. There is the beautiful Hungarian Countess Elena Adreyni (Mila Carter) who captures Poirot’s heart and admiration. The fussy Russian Princess Dragomiroff (Debbie Chazen), who is travelling with her pious companion from Sweden, Greta Ohlsson (Rebecca Charles). From America there is the much married, and on the look out for husband number 4, Helen Hubbard (Christine Kavanagh); the shady businessman Samuel Ratchett (Simon Cotton) who is travelling with his nervous secretary Hector MacQueen (Paul Keating). Finally there is the ill matched (are they a couple), pair of Mary Debenham (Iniki Mariano) and The Colonel (Rishi Rian). The cast is paired down from those is the novel and in some cases the characters have been combined. However this means that the plot is easy to follow and the characters are given time to develop, without it becoming too confusing. The opening scenes when we hear, through the eyes and ears of Poirot, snatches of conversations and glimpses of the characters is a brilliant way to meet the travellers.
The star of the show is of course The Orient Express herself. In her heyday she was the height of luxury and glamour, taking travellers to the mysterious and exotic East. The glamour and sense of travel is wonderfully created by Mike Britton, with added video design by Ian William Galloway. The huge wheels first appear on stage and easily dwarf the actors as they file on the platform. The set effortlessly moves from carriages to sleeping compartments to the dining room. The cast moving some of the props around to help the flow.
The costumes also deserve a shoutout . They were designed by Mike Britton, and really capture the luxury and opulence of the era, in particular the glorious dresses worn by Princess Dragomiroff and the impressive fur coat worn by Mr Ratchett.
My one, minor, criticism is that there was perhaps too much comedy, particularly in the second half. I felt that it jarred with the seriousness of the crime. However the comedy sat well in the first half and added to the excitement of the journey to come.
The little grey cells once more solve the insolvable.