How do you follow a massive hit touring around the country with a five-star rated version of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express? Obviously, you find another AC novel and turn it into a stage show, and this is exactly what Fiery Angel, the team behind Orient Express, have done, and I was lucky enough to be invited to the European premiere of Death on the Nile as the start of its UK tour in the historic Richmond Theatre.
Museum Director Atticus Praed (Howard Gossington) is tasked with returning a priceless Mummy to its Egyptian museum home. Atticus and son Ramses (Nicholas Prasad) are joined on the luxury cruiser taking the mummy down the Nile by some of the museums benefactors, including writer and would be actor Salome Otterbourne (Glynis Barber) and her daughter Rosalie (Camilla Anvar), celebrated Shakespearean actor Septimus Troy (Terence Wilton) and the light at the centre of the cruise newlyweds Linnet (Libby Alexandra-Cooper) and Simon (Nye Occomore). Their honeymoon should be a wonderful celebration of the start of their lives together, but Linnet is not comfortable; she feels that there are enemies all around her, including her former friend Jacqueline de Bellefort (Esme Hough). But everyone, including Annabelle Pennington (Helen Katamba) and the well-known Colonel Race (Bob Barrett), is simply on the ship to relax, see Egypt and enjoy floating along the Nile. Or are they? Late at night, a few days into the trip, a shot rings out and someone lies dead. It’s up to Hercule Poirot (Mark Hadfield) to find the murderer and avenge the death of his fellow passenger.
Based on Agatha Christie’s original novel and adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig, this production, like Orient Express previously, is absolutely brilliant. The cast of characters is cut down considerably from the original, but it does not suffer because of it. In fact, it works really well with Poirot pointing out at one point that, on the face of it, nobody could be the murderer. Ludwig has obviously worked really hard to keep the essence of the story and produced an on the whole first-rate script, which is a little bit knowing in places – such as when Colonel Race talks about Poirot’s love of the monument scene. If you do know the novel and subsequent films – one awesome, one not – then you will see some new characters and others that are not as you remember them, but they work well and each takes their place in the Christie pantheon.
Mike Britton’s double-level set works on both levels using sliding panels, curtain and flying-in handrails to bring the Karnak’s various areas to life. It is helped by Oliver Fenwick’s lighting, enhancing the feeling of being afloat. Director Lucy Bailey keeps the cast on their toes, moving between sides and floors at breakneck speed, especially during the flashback moments as Poirot narrates the solution. I could be pedantic and say that Jacqueline grabbed Race’s leg in the original scene, but didn’t in the flashback, but it’s a minor thing. However, there was one part of that scene which really jarred, and that was the flashback to the actual murder, which could not have taken place in the way shown, with the victim being awake, calling out and fighting the murderer. It took too long and the noise was too great not to have been noticed by others. Great for dramatic impact, but rather annoying to watch.
While we are still on the production. The costumes and wigs, Sarah Holland and Elizabeth Marini, were just stunning. Linnet’s appearance in the British Museum was breathtaking. Without saying a word, as her gown caught the light and dazzled everyone, you knew this was someone who had it all and knew how to get it if she didn’t have it. Whilst Linnet’s costumes ensured she was always the centre of attention, everyone else was also suitably attired for the era, with no one looking out of place or time. Excellent work
Acting was first-rate throughout, and I loved Poirot’s interaction with the others and the audience. Hadfield’s Poirot is more like the character as played by Ustinov, rather than Finney or Branagh versions, with a lot of humour and wit, especially in his interactions with Barrett’s Colonel Race – a fine duo that should be united more often. Alexandra-Cooper and Occomore as Linnet and Simon are a well-suited couple with some nice chemistry that really fits the story well, and when you add Hough’s first-rate performance as Jacqueline de Bellefort into the mix, we have a great trio that really delivers.
All told, this production of Death on the Nile really worked well for me on so many levels. Whilst I am very familiar with the book and film, the changes of character and plot in places meant the evening was as full of fun and surprises for me as for my companion, who didn’t know the story. Interestingly, he guessed the culprit but not the method, and also suggested a fascinating twist where it turned out Poirot was the murderer. The show is leaving Richmond and setting off on a round Britain tour, and whether you’re a fan of Christie, you like a good murder mystery, or you just fancy a good night out, I heartily recommend you get a ticket when it comes to a theatre near you.
Review by Terry Eastham
Bitter rivals. Buried secrets. A love to die for.
On board 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?
Mark Hadfield – Hercule Poirot
Glynis Barber – Salome Otterbourne
Bob Barrett – Colonel Race
Camilla Anvar – Rosalie Otterbourne
Libby Alexandra-Cooper – Linnet Ridgeway
Howard Gossington – Atticus Praed
Esme Hough – Jacqueline de Bellefort
Helen Katamba – Annabelle Pennington
Nye Occomore – Simon Doyle
Nicholas Prasad – Ramses Praed
Terence Wilton – Septimus Troy
David Boyle, Max Dinnen, Nadia Shash – Ensemble
Written by Agatha Christie
Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwing
Director – Lucy Bailey
Designer – Mike Britton
Lighting Designer – Oliver Fenwick
Sound Design – Mic Pool
Movement Director – Liam Steel
Casting Director – Helena Palmer
Associate Director – Lucy Waterhouse
Fight Director – Phillip D’Orleans
DEATH ON THE NILE
Richmond Theatre, 7 to 11 October 2025
UK tour continues to 23 May 2026
