Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is pure delight from the flash and dazzle theatrical open to the final curtain call. Forget your 21st century woes; it’s 1934 and Hercule Poirot is about to board the Orient Express, departing Istanbul in a few minutes.
The passengers arrive – such a strange collection of characters, including; a Russian princess (Jennifer Ludlum) and her perpetually perplexed assistant (Bronwyn Ensor), a curiously paranoid businessman (Ryan O’Kane), a Hungarian Countess (Sophie Henderson), and a brazen and brassy American woman (Rima Te Wiata), along with various assistants and train personnel.
Strangely, even though it’s the off season, and the rest of the train is nearly empty, the entire first-class carriage is sold out, no cabin for Poirot (Cameron Rhodes). The manager gives him his and The Orient Express departs for Paris.
The passengers settle in for the night. The train gets caught in a snowdrift, whipped up in a blizzard that descended near Belgrade. Apart from the American woman screaming in the middle of the night that there had been a man in her room, nothing appears unusual. But when one of the passengers fails to emerge from their room in the morning, murder most foul is discovered – and everyone on board is a suspect. And Inspector Poirot begins his hunt for clues…
What follows is a madcap romp of a whodunnit full of red herrings, high drama and hijinks; escalating to a very Agatha Christie climax.
Ken Ludwig’s play, while remaining true to Christie’s plot, pares away the author’s darker elements and plays for comedy, old school. Think Arsenic and Old Lace or The Thin Man; wise cracks, pratfalls and very pregnant pauses; brilliantly plotted so as to seem effortless, but so skillfully constructed to create that illusion.
The Auckland Theatre Company, with Shane Bosher at the helm, has delivered a lush production that exceeds all expectations. Every member of the cast seemed born to play their role, most notably Rima Te Wiata’s shamelessly audacious ugly American and Bronwyn Ensor, whose eyes were occasionally the biggest thing on the stage. Cameron Rhodes’ Poirot is so perfectly Poirot I fully expect that if I run into him at New World, he’ll be wearing a bowler and twitching his moustache.
All of this perfection (including a hilarious wardrobe malfunction!) is brought to life by an incredible creative team who deserve equal credit for delivering a visual and auditory feast.
John Verryt’s set design is simply brilliant; moving panels the width of the stage, a life-size train, its cabins, the dining car, a balcony where lovers meet; with snow flying all around. Sean Lynch’s lighting, playful or focused kept the mood.
Then the costumes! A princess, a countess, a rich American – Elizabeth Whiting clearly had fun here; nailing the era right down to the dangling feet on the fox fur.
And Paul McLaney’s composition and overall sound design was startling and mesmerizing from the unexpected opening sequence which had the audience gasping to the gentle rumble of the moving train as it sped through the snowy night – perfection!
Murder on the Orient Express left me breathless and utterly delighted. First class all the way.
Veronica McLaughlin
Murder on the Orient Express
ASB Waterfront Theatre
22 Apr – 10 May 2025
Tickets on sale HERE