DEATH ON THE NILE | UK TOUR @ FESTIVAL THEATRE, EDINBURGH
★★★
“A lavish looking production…”
While the Queen of Crime herself might not recognise this adaptation of Death On The Nile and purists of her canon may be upset by the lack of murders and merged characters, Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1937 novel proves a pleasing, comfortably paced whodunnit that ticks off many of the tale’s more salient points.
For those unfamiliar with the detail of Hercule Poirit’s 17th outing, however, it must be said that this abridged version works in its own right, anchored by the charismatic performance of Mark Hadfield as the legendary Belgian detective. It’s also a knowing, wittily self-reverential production and is all the better for it.
As a tinderbox of love, obsession, betrayal and deceit culminate in bloody murder aboard the SS Karnak as it cruises up the Nile on its mission to return a precious sarcophagus, fresh from being exhibited in the British Museum’s Egyptian Collection. Cue Poirot who, with the help of his friend, undercover MI5 agent Colonel Race, must pull together all the evidence to discover who committed the foul deed.
Much of the warmth of this production is down to Hadfield, who in the opening prologue establishes his Poirot as a convivial grand-father figure, bantering with the audience and hooking them into the action. It’s a characterisation that compliments Bob Barrett’s quintessentially English Colonel Race who, full of bluster, is the Dr Watson to Poirot’s Holmes. Together they supply nice touches of comic relief when they are most needed.
Good support comes from Glynis Barber as the glamorous, witty but quite delusional Salome Otterbourne. It’s a heightened but beautifully pitched turn that works wonderfully with Terence Wilton’s aging but ever bumptious thespian, Septimus Troy. Elsewhere, while performances are on the whole solid, there are some on stage who appear to confuse pantomime for melodrama. Bigger isn’t always better.
Director Lucy Bailey’s stylish direction displays an eye for creating imposing tableaus and ensures the story flows beautifully, despite a slightly rushed denouement, in what is a quite lavish looking production.
Mike Britton’s split-level set design, Oliver Fenwick’s lighting and Mic Pool’s immersive soundscape combine to create the elegant but contained environs of both the British Museum and the ill-fated luxury paddle steamer. Britton’s cleverly compartmentalised set is used to great and occasionally chilling effect, while Fenwick’s dramatic ambient lighting is atmospheric. It’s in keeping with Pool’s evocative soundscape, which completes the sensory nature of Poirot’s journey down the Nile perfectly.
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