To keep the dark wintery nights at bay a legendary Agatha Christie detective story arrives steaming onto the Birmingham stage.
Murder on the Orient Express is now playing at The Alexandra Theatre.
Agatha Christie, one of the world’s best-selling authors, wrote Murder on the Orient Express nearly 100-years ago and the book went on to become a landmark of detective fiction that inspired film, radio, television and stage adaptations over the years.
The much-loved book features Christie’s shrewd and determined detective Hercule Poirot who hails from Belgium.
This Poirot adventure is set in the winter of 1934 (the same year as the book was published) and revolves around Poirot boarding The Orient Express - a luxury steam train - that will take him on a three day journey from Istanbul to London.
The train is packed full of passengers, including elite members of society such as a Princess and a Countess.
Tragedy strikes The Orient Express when an avalanche forces the train to stop, and during the ensuing chaos a passenger is discovered to have been murdered in mysterious circumstances.
The intrepid Poirot is on hand to investigate the murder, interrogate the suspects and try to deduct who is the killer who walks amongst them.
This stage version of Christie’s critically-acclaimed book is adapted by Ken Ludwig. While some of the drama is wisely kept intact, some fine tuning has pruned some of Christie’s characters. However, Ludwig’s decision to introduce comedy unfortunately dilutes the murder-mystery aspects of the show.
The slapstick comedy, which veers precariously into pantomime territory, ends up causing a serious imbalance. The amateurish performances also dampened the tale.
The usually reliable and peerless Michael Maloney, who has delivered sterling performances over the years in radio, television and film productions, sadly fails to stamp his own distinctive mark on the role of Poirot. As with the rest of the cast, Maloney’s Belgian accent and movements bordered on parody that evoked the irreverent and mischievous spirit of the Carry On films from the 1970’s era.
The saving grace of this production is the stunning art design by Mike Britton. There is a real sense of movement and scope in the magnificent creation of The Orient Express’ carriages.
Britton’s ingenious set design slices through and cuts open the train carriages so that the audience can see directly into the corridors and rooms in the same way a child’s doll house can be pried open and all the rooms instantly displayed.
This sumptuous production is like booking a ticket and stepping onto The Orient Express itself.
Verdict: ★★★
Murder on the Orient Express is now playing at The Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham until Saturday 1st February
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