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Black Coffee
Malvern Theatres
*** With the final curtain recently closing
on David Suchet's magnificent turn as Poirot in the long-running
television series, it was always going to be hard for any actor to slip
into the shoes of the well-loved Belgian detective. Putting his 1930s hat in the ring in Agatha
Christie's Black Coffee is a stalwart of television and theatre, Robert
Powell. Joining him in the lavish art deco surroundings
of a country manor house for murder and mayhem are the usual list of
suspects played with enthusiasm by familiar faces including Liza
Goddard, Gary Mavers and Ben Nealon. Murder mystery fans will enjoy the formulaic
set-up, following every clue closely, while Robin McCallum as sidekick
Captain Hastings is a refreshingly funny stooge to Poirot's one-liners. In fact, there is much more humour in this
production than most Poirot shows, and the tone is more in line with
films starring Peter Ustinov as the great detective. Powell's performance is enjoyable enough, but
he's just not managed to nail the finer details of Poirot, which we have
come to expect from Suchet's portrayal. This Poirot in comparison seems a bit too
sprightly - he hasn't got the quirks that make him such a small and
dandy figure of fun in the novels, and he even punches a suspect at one
stage. While the accent is also dubious at times,
waivering between European regions, Powell is not the worst culprit for
this by far. There's an odd job of foreign accents from Gary Mavers and
Olivia Mace, who are supposed to be Italian but occasionally lapse into
something far different. Overall, it's a pleasant evening to test the
little grey cells and will provide a welcome return of beloved Poirot to
those who have been grieving since his television demise. Alison Brinkworth
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