Reviewed by Malcolm Calder
Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig
Auckland Theatre Company
Dir: Shane Bosher
Set: John Verryt
Lighting: Sean Lynch
Costumes: Elizabeth Whiting
Composition and Sound: Paul McLaney
Motion: Harley Campbell
Dialect: Kirstie O’Sullivan
Intimacy: Todd Emerson
Engine Room Assistant Director: Nī Dekkers-Reihana
With Bronwen Ensor (Greta Ohlsson), Sophie Henderson (Countess Andreyi), Jennifer Ludlam (Princess Dragomiroff), Mayen Mehta (Hector McQueen), Ryan O’Kane Col Arbuthnot/Samuel Ratchett), Mirabai Pease (Mary Debenham), Cameron Rhodes (Hercule Poirot), Jordan Selwyn (Michael/Head Waiter), Rima Te Wiata (Helen Hubbard), Edwin Wright (Monsieur Bouc)
ASB Waterfront Theatre
Until 10 May
Reviewer Malcolm Calder
Photo: Andi Crown
I’ve had a busy time of it lately. What with school holidays, two successive long weekends and a seemingly endless round of rather long and demanding days, I had half a mind to settle for a quiet glass of red, a good book and an early bedtime blithely avoiding any additional responsibilities that might involve going out to the theatre. Had to rush to make the 7pm start too!
Thank goodness I didn’t.
With this re-vamp of the original classic, Director Shane Bosher has turned in a blinder for Auckland Theatre Company and come up with something that is pure, unadulterated entertainment.
Adaptor Ken Ludwig’s cull of the original murder mystery, after having been approached by Agatha Christie’s grandson for the Christie Estate, was first performed in 2017. So if you are a Christie devotee looking for a simply stage-adaptation of her original go no further.
Ludwig adamantly insists that he is a writer of plays and not simply a ‘murder-mystery guy’. As a result he has redrawn, reduced and compacted the number of characters, enhanced the comedy and come up with a tightly-scripted and genuine ensemble piece that adds to the already enormous output that has made him arguably the most produced playwright of his generation.
It is sometimes suggested that more serious undertones may have underpinned aspects of Christie’s original but few are evident here. Bosher may have drawn some slight allusions to contemporary geo-political issues that underpin the entire structure but this may or may not be the case. What he has done however, is generate something that entertains big time.
The result is an actor’s piece to die for. And this cast do more than just deliver. Just as Auckland Theatre Company, CEO Jonathan Bielski has urged audiences to avoid spoilers about resolution of the murder, mystery and mayhem of the play itself, it would be churlish to single out any one cast member. The entire cast is let loose, projecting archetypes rather than convincing portrayals of real people. Each character is distinct, their backgrounds are as varied as their accents and the ensemble functions as a singular unit predominantly by using that essence of great comedy – precision timing and the credibility of relationships between them.
ATC is to be congratulated too on once again continuing to develop pathways for increasing numbers of younger actors and production people who we are seeing as first-time performers with ATC.
This is a consummate, professional ensemble and even a tiny glitch with a prop on opening night was more than successfully ad-libbed around, the comedy was sustained and the professionalism acknowledged by an audience who got it.
I am advised that ticket sales for MOTORE are already strong and ATC is to be congratulated on both the production itself and for hopefully hitting a jackpot.
The 7pm start time may have been a bit of a scramble but it had the bonus of my being home and abed well before 10pm. No book though – my head was still laughing inside itself.
New Zealand Arts Review 