DEATH on the Nile is being performed at the Hall for Cornwall between November 11 and 15.
The brand-new adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic is set onboard a luxurious cruise under the heat of the Egyptian sun.
A couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder. As secrets that have been buried in the sands of time finally resurface, can the world-famous detective, Hercule Poirot, untangle the web of lies and solve another crime?
Following the sell-out tour of Murder on the Orient Express, the European premiere of the thrilling production reunites writer Ken Ludwig, director Lucy Bailey (Witness for the Prosecution) and Fiery Angel.
Starring as Poirot is Mark Hadfield (Belfast; Outlander; Wallander) who will be joined on stage by Glynis Barber (Dempsey and Makepeace; EastEnders) and Bob Barrett (Murder on the Orient Express; Holby City).
Playing legendary detective Hercule Poirot in the European premiere of a new stage version of Death on the Nile, Mark Hadfield has the approval of none other than Sir Kenneth Branagh. The two actors are friends. "And he's been incredibly encouraging," Marks says about chats he's had with Branagh, who has played Poirot himself in three big-screen outings.
Encouragement also comes from Michael Maloney, another actor friend who took on the role of the Belgian sleuth in the recent touring production of Murder on the Orient Express - which, like the UK and Ireland tour of Death on the Nile, was adapted from the Agatha Christie novel by Ken Ludwig, directed by Lucy Bailey and produced by Fiery Angel.
"They both encouraged me to do this because they said, 'You will have so much enjoyment in bringing him to life'," Hadfield says of Branagh and Maloney, "and I think Death on the Nile is one of Christie's best stories, so that also drew me in. Poirot's journey within it is fascinating to play, because he goes from being on what he thinks is a relaxing holiday to having to solve a murder."
The murder in question happens in the 1930s when Hercule is holidaying on a luxury steamer on the Nile River in Egypt, where a couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder. As secrets that have been buried in the sands of time finally resurface, can the world-famous detective untangle the web of lies and solve the case?
Poirot has been played by many revered performers before - not just Branagh and Maloney, but also Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov and David Suchet. "And he is such an iconic character that everyone has their own version of what they think he should be like," Mark muses. "The challenge is to try and incorporate people's expectations but also to bring in a few surprises."
He smiles. "I'm not expecting people to say 'Oh my God, that was the most original Poirot I've ever seen' by giving him a punk hairdo or what have you. But I hope to find that balance of pleasing people while leaving them going 'We haven't seen that before'."
After solving a murder on the Orient Express, the super sleuth is heading into his later years. "He may even be thinking of retiring," Mark believes, "and he talks about old age and life having passed him by. There's more of a hint of melancholy than people might be used to from him."
Mark's Poirot will, of course, have a moustache. "It's still a work in progress," he says as he fluffs up the one he's been growing during rehearsals. "It's getting there. I may need a bit of help to flesh it out to begin with, but halfway through the tour I should be going solo with the tache!"
Mark has done lots of TV and film work, but the majority of his CV is taken up by theatre - from Shakespeare to Sondheim via Dr. Strangelove and The Lion King - and that's where his heart lies. "I really enjoy doing films and TV," he says, "but when I go back to theatre I love the connection with an audience. I see them as the last members to join the company."
He's hopeful that audiences for Death on the Nile will find it to be "delicious, like opening a two-tray box of chocolates where you enjoy the first layer so much that you have to have the second layer too." The story, he adds, is a mix of escapism with a timeless theme. "It's gloriously evocative of travel in that time, but it's also about how we should nurture love and try to be as kind as we can. That's something we could learn from with everything that's going on at the moment."
Colonel Race, Poirot's partner in crime-solving, is played by Bob Barrett, who is no stranger to Agatha Christie stage adaptations. This is Bob's third Christie whodunnit, after And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express.
"I love her stories because they're edgy and they go to dark places," he says of why he keeps coming back for more, "but there's something cosy and comfortable about them. This is my favourite out of all of them, because it's about love. It has such heart, which makes it all the more tragic."
The Colonel is Poirot's friend and a Secret Service agent. "And he's terribly posh," Barrett says. "I played Monsieur Bouc in Murder on the Orient
Express and he was Poirot's friend too, but he was sort of a buffoon whereas Race is very bright. I wouldn't say he's Hercule's intellectual equal, but they are much more on a level than he and Bouc were."
A veteran of the genre, the actor believes theatregoers are drawn to whodunnits because, "You get to work things out as the play goes along. You get the clues, as if you're playing a board game. Yes, you might be scared but you get to go home at the end, and in times like these I think people find comfort in that."
Barrett came to fame as Dr. Sacha Levy on Holby City and it's the role he remains best-known for. And he's fine with that, beaming: "I don't mind at all, because I adored that job. I'm not on social media, so it's lovely when people come to the stage door and I get to say 'Thank you for watching'. I knew it was popular, of course, but it's amazing how they still remember that character."
Death on the Nile is set in the 1930s but Bob feels it remains timely. "As I say, it's all about love, which makes it more intimate than the other Christies I've done. Poirot gives a wonderful speech at the end about how love is more important than hate, and that sentiment never goes out of date. There is nothing more universal and more profound than love. That's why I think this play will pull at the heartstrings and really have an effect on people who come to see it."
Careful not to give spoilers, he says fans of the book and the various screen adaptations are still in for some surprises, with new characters and others that have been gender-swapped. Then there's the two-tiered set. "You've got the higher and lower levels, and you get to see what they're all up to, who's listening in and all of that intrigue."
Passengers on the steamer include flamboyant romance novelist Salome Otterbourne, played here by Glynis Barber, who teases, "In the play, she's very different to how she is in the book and in the various films. And she's quite a character, which makes her fun to play. She is larger-than-life and she brings a lot of energy to the stage. She's the loudest, bubbliest and most theatrical character, that's for sure."
Another draw for Glynis was the team behind Death on the Nile. "Lucy is a fabulous director and Fiery Angel is an amazing company. Plus this one hasn't been done on stage before in the UK, so that makes it exciting."
Then there's the excitement among Christie fans. A version of the play was previously staged in Washington, but Ken Ludwig has completely rewritten it for its European premiere. "And the response has been phenomenal," Barber marvels. "I've had so many messages from people I know and people I don't know going, 'I definitely want to see that'. I've even got one friend who is flying in from Spain to Edinburgh to see it."
Glynis is best known for starring in 1980s cult drama Dempsey and Makepeace and has also appeared in the likes of Blake's 7, EastEnders and Hollyoaks. But she's hard-pressed to pick a favourite, saying: "That's always a difficult one, because you enjoy different things at different times and you get something different out of every part."
This is her first time doing theatre since The Best Man in 2018 in London's West End. "After the pandemic, I wasn't sure if I wanted to return to it," she admits, "because, after being isolated for all that time, I'd gotten cold feet. But the fact that it's a scary prospect is a good reason to do it, and I thought, 'If I am going to go back to theatre, this is a really good play to do so with'."
Barber understands the lure of an Agatha Christie story on stage. "The plots keep you guessing and they're a very good way to escape the world for a couple of hours. Who doesn't want a bit of that, especially these days?"
And she agrees with her co-stars about the central theme of Death on the Nile. "It's about love, which is deeply pertinent for every age, and in this story it's a very profound theme." She smiles. "Unless we all become AI bots, love is universal and that is something that will never change."
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