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Michael Maloney as Hercules Poirot, Rebecca Charles as Greta Ohlsson and Debbie Chazen as Princess Dragomiroff. Pictures:;Manuel Harlan Murder on the Orient Express Malvern Theatres ***** This dramatic production of Murder on the Orient Express brings a fresh dimension to the concept of knife crime. Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s famous novel is brilliantly brought to the stage by Lucy Bailey in Malvern this week. On entering the theatre, the audience is faced with a bare, black stage. However very quickly we are treated to a fabulous set, designed by Mike Britton, which presents us with a hotel interior, a train station and train carriages mostly set on a revolve, providing us with a train corridor on one side and passenger compartments on the other, compartments that can split and reunite and provide plenty of visual variety. This is set against a backdrop which provides images to evoke rain, snow and the child whose murder was at the root of all that then takes place on the Express. Hercules Poirot finds himself on a journey with a very colourful array of characters and a complicated plot to unravel. Michael Maloney provides a strong interpretation of Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective, moving with clear, staccato gestures and managing the various characters with great authority.
From the outset he lets us know that this particular crime challenged him and his ethics, his values and view of the law, in a profound way that becomes clear in the end. The challenge to his purist view of the law and its application to this particular case eventually emerge: they raise moral and ethical questions about the place for compromises and pragmatism. The cast provide strong and varied characterisations, beautifully costumed (Sarah Holland) and humourously heightened in their interpretation. Many provide humour and some comedy, but none more than Bob Barrett as Monsieur Bouc who carries responsibility for the train and its passengers. Lucy Bailey’s direction of this production is excellent The blocking, the tableaux, the blending of great sound and lighting effects with the fast pace of the action and visual changes keep us wholly engaged and fascinated by the puzzles that Christie loves to present us with. This is great theatre, great entertainment, and manages to provoke us with some deeper moral and ethical questions at the same time. ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ is recommended for those over 12 years of age and runs at Malvern until Saturday 16th November. Tim Crow 12-11-24 |
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