Michael Maloney will star as Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, in Lucy Bailey’s new production of the UK & Ireland Tour of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. Agatha Christie Ltd and Fiery Angel will bring Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic to the stage, opening on 6 September at the Lowry in Salford and running through to 3 May 2025 at the Cheltenham Everyman.
Michael said of playing Poirot, “I am very excited and honoured to be joining a long line of extraordinary actors who have taken on the role of Hercule Poirot and hope I can be so, too. To work with such a talented director as Lucy Bailey and with top producers Fiery Angel is a gift and a privilege. Here's to Orient Express hurtling through your town or city soon!”
Michael Maloney’s extensive film and television work includes Belfast, Iron Lady, Young Victoria, Notes on a Scandal, Branagh's Hamlet, Zefferelli's Hamlet, Truly Madly Deeply, The Crown, Magpie Murder, The Trial of Christine Keeler, The Five, River, The White Queen, Bonekickers, Empire, The Jury and Love on a Branch Line. On the stage, his many roles for the RSC include Edgar, Romeo and Prince Hal. For the National, he has appeared in Light Shining in Buckinghamshire as Cromwell, Alice’s Adventures Under Ground as Lewis Carroll and Once in a While the Odd Thing Happens as Benjamin Britten. In the West End, he has appeared in Peer Gynt (in the title role), Can You Hear Me at the Back? and Taking Steps.
Winter 1934 and an avalanche stops the Orient Express dead in its tracks. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Trapped in the snow with a killer still on board, can the world’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot, crack the case before the train reaches its final destination?
Murder on The Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s greatest literary achievements, with a final twist that is amongst her very best. Gripping, tense and masterfully cryptic, this brand-new production is a deliciously thrilling ride and an ingenious murder mystery, guaranteed to keep you guessing until the end of the line.
Further casting is to be announced.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS will be directed by Lucy Bailey (Witness for the Prosecution, And Then There Were None, The Other Boleyn Girl) and designed by Mike Britton, with lighting design by Oliver Fenwick, video design by Ian Galloway, sound design by Mic Pool, movement direction by Leah Hausman, casting by Abby Galvin and with Victoria Gartner as assistant director.
Website: www.murderontheorientexpressplay.com
Instagram: @orientexpressplay
Facebook: @orientexpressplay
X: @orientexpressuk
TOUR SCHEDULE
2024
6-14 September The Lowry, Salford 0161 876 2000
17-21 September Norwich Theatre Royal 01603 630000
24-28 September Theatre Royal Plymouth 01752 267222
1-5 October Canterbury Marlowe Theatre 01227 787787 www.marlowetheatre.com
8-12 October Glasgow King’s Theatre https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre-glasgow
15-19 October Curve, Leicester
22-26 October Edinburgh Festival Theatre 0131 529 6000
29 October – 2 November Cambridge Arts Theatre 01223 503333
5-9 November Richmond Theatre, London
12-16 November Malvern Festival Theatre 01684 892277
19-23 November Truro Hall for Cornwall 01872 262 466 www.hallforcornwall.co.uk
2025
14-18 January Newcastle Theatre Royal 0191 232 7010
21-25 January The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford 01483 44 00 00
28 January – 1 February Birmingham The Alexandra
4-8 February Sheffield Lyceum 0114 249 6000
11-15 February Aberdeen His Majesty’s Theatre
18-22 February Southampton Mayflower Theatre 02380 711 811 www.mayflower.org.uk
25 February – 1 March Milton Keynes Theatre www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre
4-8 March New Theatre, Cardiff 0343 310 0041
11-16 March Theatre Royal Bath 01225 448844
theatreroyal.org.uk on sale 24 May
25-29 March York Grand Opera House
1- 5 April Nottingham Theatre Royal 0115 989 5555
8-12 April Gaiety Theatre, Dublin 00 353 1 646 8600
22-26 April Theatre Royal Brighton
29 April – 3 May Cheltenham Everyman Theatre 01242 572573
Comments