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BrumHour saw Death on the Nile at the invite of The Alexandra.
For Brum Radio’s Interval Theatre, Bob Barrett talked about returning to The Alexandra for his third Poirot mystery. Listen below:
By Dave Massey
Death on the Nile at The Alexandra: Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐An engaging mystery
Directed by Lucy Bailey and adapted by Ken Ludwig
An idyllic river cruise is the setting for this mystery adventure with Agatha Christie’s Poirot (Mark Hadfield) rubbing shoulders with the elite and privileged. Newlyweds on honeymoon and a scorned ex-fiancée drive this story.
The staging is simple to look at but very effective, with two levels of doors with slatted windows and the action switching between them. It evokes the feeling of a river-based cruise boat. The costumes are glam and elegant for the period of the 1930s, when this production is set.
Mark Hadfield is excellent as Poirot, with Glynis Barber confidently playing Salome Otterbourne, and Bob Barrett is particularly fun as the Colonel. Libby Alexandra-Cooper, Nye Occomore and Esme Hough are all great as the mixed-up, messy lovers.
This production is fun, and even though it is set nearly one hundred years ago, it has a really fresh style to it. There’s a sense of style to it that the previous productions don’t have. It relies on story to push the events forward rather than action. This story runs for two hours and twenty minutes including a twenty-minute interval with a steady solid pace.
An engaging mystery, Death on the Nile is at The Alexandra until 11th April. Book tickets here: atgtickets.com/shows/agatha-christies-death-on-the-nile/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham.
