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Poirot
back on the trail Black Coffee
Belgrade Theatre
****
WHAT a lovely gentle, entertaining and enthralling evening that was!
Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee with M. Hercule Poirot exercising his
‘little grey cells’ (and ours) with a spectacular bit of stage
sleuthing. Robert
Powell (of Detectives and Jesus fame) has taken over the mantle for this
stage tour and actually it appears that this play is the ONLY one that
David Suchet never performed, so for most people it was completely new. It was also completely lovely.
In the hands of Robert Powell, Poirot has a gentle humour, a quick
appreciation of his surroundings (and of the women in it), a gentle
ribbing of his sidekick Captain Hastings (Robin McCallum), a dapper
brilliance, an economy of action, movement and speech but mostly a fine
and swift grasp of the niceties of 1930s style aristocratic murder. He has arrived in the home of
miserly but rich inventor Sir Claud Amory (Ric Recate) at his
invitation. Sir Claud has been hot on the trail of the formula for a
huge bomb and persons unknown have stolen the only copy from his safe. Who are the suspects? There’s
the butler Treadwell (Martin Caroll), Sir Claud’s assistant Raynor (Mark
Jackson), his son Richard (Ben Nealon) whose new wife Italian Lucia
(Olivia Mace) is being blackmailed by unexpected guest, an unscrupulous,
self-styled Dr Carelli (Gary Mavers). Flighty and flapperish sister
Barbara (Felicity Houlbrooke) who takes a shine to Hastings and Aunt
Caroline (Liza Goddard) who simply gets on with her knitting in an
atmosphere of parsimonious merriment – after Sir Claud’s untimely
demise. Who killed him and why is the
main action of what Poirot calls ‘a real drama’. It’s, as we know of old
with Agatha Christie’s ouvre, the quiet ones you have to watch and true
to form, the killer of the unmourned old man is the least likely. Inspector Japp of Scotland
Yard (Eric Carte) turns up to throw in a few extra red herrings while
Poirot looks on with quiet amusement. Of course I’m not telling you
whodunnit! What do you take me for? A killjoy? There is so much here to
delight the eye as well as appeal to the mind. The Art Deco set is
sumptuous, the costumes delightful and all in all this production’
directed by Joe Harmston, tells the story with a fine wit, deft and
unexpected twists and the denouement, as always, creeps up without the
tiniest of waves. This is polished, professional theatre at its best and
a joy to watch. To 10-05-14 Jane Howard
06-05-14
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