It’s all absolument magnifique. Très drôle. The staging is amazing. The costumes are divine. The soundscape is inspired. The performances are perfect. Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile is so well done, that every single one of the actors would be upstaging everyone else if they weren’t all so good. Mark Hadfield as Hercule Poirot, who opens and closes the show, is excellent. Very adroit and very funny.
Agatha Christie’s characters are each quirky in a different way. Glynis Barber as the self-styled actress Salome Otterbourne would utterly steal the show if the others weren’t also at the top of their game. As it is, she is a shining diamond.
The gems around her are Libby Alexandra-Cooper as the heiress Linnet Ridgeway and Esme Hough as the rejected fiancé Jacqueline de Bellefort.
Not to be outdone, every one of the supporting characters is a tour de force too. David Boyle is splendid as Atticus Praed the Egyptologist. as are Bob Barratt as Colonel Race and Terence Wilton as Septimus Troy. The characters are arch. The plot is daft, but the performances are seriously good and played for real. The play has humour in almost every line. Perfect nuance and comic timing throughout.
The play opens with a scene on a railway station, complete with sound and steam. Two lovers, Jackie, and Simon embrace. Poirot sees them and laments the passions of young love.
Next, we are taken to a party at the British Museum where an Egyptian sarcophagus is being celebrated before it’s return to Egypt. It will be taken by boat along the Nile with everyone at the party on board. The plot circles around the young couple.
At the party, Jackie has introduced her beloved fiancé Simon to her wealthy best friend Linnet. Quelle mistake! Linnet and Simon are instantly attracted and lose no time in getting married. Jackie is set on revenge. En voyage, she is stalking them on their honeymoon. All three of them are on the boat. Someone is going to get hurt.
Mike Britton’s magnificent set is built on two levels as the decks on a boat. This is enhanced by ship’s noises throughout, so you believe the boat is moving. (Great soundscape by Mic Pool). A world is created by the 1920s costumes, which are dazzling (costume designer Sarah Holland take a bow), and the comic timing of the actors makes this show great fun.
A packed audience was chuckling throughout. Great atmosphere in the theatre. Directed by Lucy Bailey, it’s a joy to hear and a pleasure to see. A night out most divertissant.
Death on the Nile is at Cambridge Arts Theatre until Saturday, May 16.
To book tickets:
https://www.artstheatre.co.uk/whats-on/death-on-the-nile/
