Poirot's on the case again... this time at the TRP

MARK HADFIELD STARS AS THE FAMOUS DETECTIVE IN CLASSIC CHRISTIE THRILLER

- By JANET KING

The stage version is adapted from the Agatha Christie novel

PLAYING legendary detective Hercule Poirot in the European premiere of a new stage version of Death on the Nile, Mark Hadfield has the approval of none other than Sir Kenneth Branagh. The two actors are friends.

“And he’s been incredibly encouraging,” Mark says about chats he’s had with Branagh, who has played Poirot himself in three big-screen outings.

Encouragement also comes from Michael Maloney, another actor friend who took on the role of the Belgian sleuth in the recent touring production of Murder on the Orient Express - which, like the UK and Ireland tour of Death on the Nile, was adapted from the Agatha Christie novel by Ken Ludwig, directed by Lucy Bailey and produced by Fiery Angel.

“They both encouraged me to do this because they said, “You will have so much enjoyment in bringing him to life,” Hadfield says of Branagh and Maloney, “and I think Death on the Nile is one of Christie’s best stories, so that also drew me in. Poirot's journey within it is fascinating to play, because he goes from being on what he thinks is a relaxing holiday to having to solve a murder.”

The murder in question happens in the 1930s, when Hercule is holidaying on a luxury steamer on the Nile River in Egypt, where 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 untangle the web of lies and solve the case?

Poirot has been played by many revered performers before - not just Branagh and Maloney, but also Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov and David Suchet. “And he is such an iconic character that everyone has their own version of what they think he should be like’, Mark muses. “The challenge is to try and incorporate people’s expectations but also to bring in a few surprises.”