Rave Reviews for Murder on the Orient Express UK Tour

I have just returned from a glorious trip to the UK where I had the privilege of attending opening night and several performances of the new tour of Murder on the Orient Express.  It’s an extraordinary production directed by the great Lucy Bailey with a stellar cast starring Michael Maloney as Hurcule Poirot, and set by Mike Britton that, in the words of the Sunday Times, “puts us inside that luxury locomotive steaming through eastern Europe.”

The show will run through May of 2025, so if you have an opportunity to catch one of the performances, I highly recommend it. The tour dates are here. The review excerpts and photos below give you a taste of the brilliance of the actual production.

 “Adapting a story from one medium to another is a difficult art, and adapting Christie for the theatre must be particularly tricky. Somehow you have to get all those characters, all those red herrings, all that plot, which might take you days to read, into about two hours tops. And half the audience will know the story so you have to satisfy their expectations, and surprise them if you can.  Ludwig manages all of this, so much so that at one point in act two there was an audible gasp from the stalls. …

…his adaptation is in very good hands. Mike Britton has designed a stunning set which steals act one. His period costumes – the story is set in the 1930s – are equally beautiful and expressive of the characters. Lucy Bailey directs with a sure hand, moving between realism and expressionism, never letting the audience know what might be coming next. And her work really shines through in act two, at the climax and at the end, so that we feel a great deal more than the satisfaction of finding out who dunnit.”

--From the Northern Soul Review by Chris Wallis 
 

“Even if you’ve seen many versions of Christie’s story, the moral conundrum at its close – as the culprits are literally allowed to get away with murder – is still surprising. And the production doesn’t shy away from the darkness at its heart, with scenes including a grisly murder scene re-enactment among the moments that help to reinvigorate such a familiar tale.

… A challenge of staging one of Agatha Christie’s best-known murder mysteries is that large swathes of the audience will come in knowing exactly how the action plays out and precisely whodunnit. Ken Ludwig’s adaptation, which premiered in New Jersey in 2017, doesn’t reinvent the wheel. There are witty, almost farcical touches – especially in the first half – and the character count from Christie’s 1934 novel has been trimmed down. But the story in Lucy Bailey’s lightly heightened, handsomely mounted touring production unfolds largely as expected, yet manages to remain gripping, right up to Hercule Poirot’s final reveal.”

--From The Stage review by Chris Bartlett

“Ken Ludwig’s adaptation is daring, omitting several possible suspects from Christie’s novel, and so losing one (some might argue the essential) clue or motivating prompt. The dialogue has a delightful screwball comedy tone "you remind me of one of my husbands", "Which one?", "The next one." The characters are drawn from a wide variety of cultures, so narrow-minded attitudes, demanding directional signs be in English despite being in Turkey, are mocked mercilessly.

Like the train from which the title is taken, Murder on the Orient Express is a classy production. Very classy.”

--From the British Theatre Guide review by David Cunningham

 
“If, like me, you are a Christie nut then be sure to book your tickets for this gripping journey of tragedy, revenge and redemption, gloriously brought to the stage by Ken Ludwig. …

To a man, and woman, each cast member gave terrific performances as the multi-national, multi-cultural and multi-faceted passengers on the famous train. …

Ultimately, Poirot solves the case but is presented with a moral conundrum. You have no such conundrum when considering buying a ticket for this glorious production. Reserve yourself a seat and arrive at the station on time.”

--From the Burnley Express review by Dominic Collis

“Ken Ludwig’s 2017 adaptation effectively captures the sharp plotting and intricacies of Christie’s original with a fairly uncluttered script that skillfully abridges the depth of the mystery and character backstories in a concise two-hour piece. …

Lucy Bailey is now three for three when it comes to the ‘Queen of Crime’ and Murder on the Orient Express proves a slick and captivating production of Agatha Christie’s clandestine railway classic.”

--From The Arts Shelf review by Adam Gonet