Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot: Immaculate investigations in Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan
WE know of Agatha Christie’s monumental achievements, but what of Ken Ludwig, whose contribution to Fiery Angel’s European premiere of his adaptation of Death On The Nile is of equal significance?
Born in York – of the Pennsylvania, not Yorkshire, variety – he is “America’s preeminent comic playwright”, as well as author, screenwriter and director, whose work has been performed in 30-plus countries in more than 20 languages.
Screwball comedies are a specialism, but he has carved out a niche too in putting his stamp on Christie’s thrillers, working in tandem again with director Lucy Bailey and producers Fiery Angel after their sold-out collaborations on And Then There Were None in 2023 and Murder On The Orient Express in 2025.
Death On The Nile is his most humorous yet. Par example, if you have never seen Belgian detective Hercule Poirot wiggle and jiggle with his cane while talking of rumpy-pumpy, now is your chance in a play as full of punchlines as suspense and murder.
Indeed, Ludwig even branches out into meta-theatre as Mark Hadfield’s Poirot and Bob Barrett’s Colonel Race form not only a partnership in crime-solving but also a comic double act.
When Colonel Race reveals his exasperation at the tradition of Poirot rounding up everyone to deliver his whodunit verdict, Hadfield’s Poirot counters: “I love it!” We love it too, of course, hence the typically packed audience on Wednesday night, none more excited than young Charlie in the stalls row in front, as the next generation joins the Christie fan club.
Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot, left, Esme Hough’s Jacqueline De Bellefort, Nye Occomore’s Simon Doyle and Libby Alexandra-Cooper’s Linnet Ridgeway in Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan
Bailey, Ludwig and Hadfield make for a playful, yet also serious triumvirate at the heart of Death On The Nile, the balance just right, so that the tension still cranks up but the humour works a treat too, serving as comic relief rather than being irreverent.
Death On The Nile is later-days Poirot when everything is turning as grey as his little cells of logic and brain power, as he contemplates retirement and his luxury paddle steamer cruise beneath the Egyptian sun is for rest and recuperation in the affable company of Colonel Race.
Bailey’s productions opens with the familiar silhouette of Hadfield’s Poirot in dapper hat and coat on a railway platform as Esme Hough’s Jacqueline De Bellefort is mid-clinch with Nye Occomore’s Simon Doyle. It will not end well, his instinct lets us know.
Whoosh, the plot thickens at a meet-the-cast party at the British Museum to mark the imminent return of a sarcophagus to Egypt on board the SS Karnak. Mike Britton’s superbly adaptable set now transforms into the two decks of the steamer, from which no-one can escape in transit.
His use of sliding slatted doors facilitates creating differing bedroom cabins, with connecting balconies, while Oliver Fenwick’s lighting then shines through the slats to add to the air of mystery (along with Bailey’s further use of figures in silent silhouette, or even whispering in an ear while moving furniture in scene changes). Mic Pool’s sound design is vital to the rising sense of claustrophobia too.
Further scenes take place to the front of the sliders, culminating in the aforementioned Poirot dressing-down. On the subject of dressing, everyone is dressing up the max in Britton’s gorgeous designs for the women and elegant suits for the men.
Double act: Bob Barrett’s Colonel Race and Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot in Death On The Nile
If one triangle – Bailey, Ludwig and Hadfield – is crucial to the style and interpretation of content, then another is the play’s fulcrum. Hough’s Jacqueline, by now jilted by Occomore’s Doyle in favour of heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Libby Alexandra-Cooper) has followed their every honeymoon step and now on to the steamer, where her choice of colour (red) spells danger.
Alexandra-Cooper’s neurotic Linnet has every right to be nervous, and not only because of Jacqueline’s unwanted presence. What happens next, your reviewer will not divulge, but only the sarcophagus is not under suspicion when the inevitable murder takes place.
Bailey’s cast has so many performances to enjoy, from Alexandra –Cooper’s haunted Linnet to Nicholas Prasad’s shy doctor Ramses Praed, topped off by the comic interplay of Terence Wilton’s veteran theatre darling Septimus Troy and Glynis Barber’s chameleon society butterfly Salome Otterbourne.
Above all else, Hadfield’s Poirot may have a limp from a wartime injury but he has a spring in his impish step, yet he is still fastidious and stern in conducting his investigations, capturing the overlapping tones of Ludwig’s script. Poirot has a closing point to make too: the importance of love and how it should not be cheated.
It would be a crime to miss Fiery Angel’s Death On The Nile, so full of style and wit.
Fiery Angel in Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, tonight and tomorrow, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Mark Britton’s slatted set design for the paddle steamer in Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan
JAPANESE prints, a Belgian detective, a Tudor queen and a West Riding pioneer are all making waves in Charles Hutchinson’s early March recommendations.
Exhibition of the week: Making Waves, The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print, York Art Gallery, until August 30, open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm
MAKING Waves: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print presents Japanese art and culture in more than 100 striking and iconic works from renowned artists such as Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige and Kitagawa Utamaro, among many others.
At the epicentre of this intriguing insight into the history and development of Japanese woodblock printing is the chance to see Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, one of the most recognisable and celebrated artworks in the world. Tickets: yorkartgallery.org.uk.
York Community Choir Festival 2026: Showcase for choirs aplenty at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York
Festival of the week: York Community Choir Festival 2026, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
THE annual York Community Choir Festival brings together choirs of all ages to perform in a wide variety of singing styles on each bill. Across the week, 43 choirs are taking part in nine concerts, making the 2026 event the largest yet. Concert programmes feature well-known classical and modern popular songs, complemented by show tunes, world music, folk song, gospel, jazz and soul. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Death On The Nile: European premiere of Ken Ludwig’s new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Manuel Harlan
Murder mystery of the week: Fiery Angel presents Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, March 3 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
AFTER tours of And Then There Were None and Murder On The Orient Express, Death On The Nile reunites director Lucy Bailey, writer Ken Ludwig and producers Fiery Angel for the European premiere of a new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile.
On board a luxurious cruise under the heat of the Egyptian sun, a couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder. As secrets buried in the sands of time resurface, can Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Mark Hadfield), untangle the web of lies? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Nick Patrick Jones’s Henry VIII and Lara Stafford’s Anne Boleyn in Black Treacle Theatre’s Anne Boleyn. Picture: John Saunders
Historical drama of the week: Black Treacle Theatre in Anne Boleyn, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
YORK company Black Treacle Theatre presents Howard Brenton’s account of one of England’s most important and intriguing historical figures: Tudor lover, heretic, revolutionary, queen Anne Boleyn (played by Lara Stafford).
Traditionally seen as either the pawn of an ambitious family manoeuvred into the King’s bed, or as a predator manipulating her way to power, Anne – and her ghost – re-emerges in a very different light in Brenton’s epic play, premiered by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in 2010. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Poetry event of the week: York Poetry Society, Poetry Pharmacy launch celebration, Jacob’s Well, Trinity Lane, York, Friday, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
TO mark Friday’s opening of the third Poetry Pharmacy, part bookshop, part apothecary, part reading room, and venue for readings, workshops, creative writing clubs in Coney Street, founder Deborah Alma talks about its concept of fostering the therapeutic effects of poetry.
Local poets are invited to read poems with this aim in mind in the second half. “Normally we ask of non-members a £3 entry fee, but on this occasion, if you write a poem relevant to the evening, all we will ask is that you read it to us as part of the programme,” says programme secretary Marta Hardy.
Irish dance and magic combine in Celtic Illusion, on tour at York Barbican
Magical experience of the week: Celtic Illusion, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm
AFTER dazzling audiences across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and the USA, this thunderous Irish dance and grand-illusion magic show is making its premiere UK tour in 2026.
Created by Anthony Street, illusionist and former lead of Lord Of The Dance, Celtic Illusion brings together dancers from Riverdance and Lord Of The Dance, who perform to a soaring original score and remastered classics by composer Angela Little. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, as Anne Lister, rehearsing for Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack. Picture: Colleen Mair
Dance premiere of the week: Northern Ballet and Finnish National Opera and Ballet in Gentleman Jack, Leeds Grand Theatre, Saturday to March 14, except Sunday and Monday, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm matinees on March 12 and 14
THIS groundbreaking new ballet marks a trio of ‘firsts’: the first time the story of Anne Lister has been told through ballet, the first large-scale commission for Northern Ballet since 2021 and the first under artistic director Federico Bonelli.
Yorkshirewoman Anne, the “first modern lesbian”, lived, dressed and loved as she desired, not as 19th century society expected of her. Northern Ballet’s interpretation of her life is choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, leading a female artistic team that includes Sally Wainwright, writer of the BBC/HBO television series Gentleman Jack. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
The poster for the Merely Players’ Fakespeare exposé at Helmsley Arts Centre
The Great Shakespeare Fraud of the week: Merely Players, Fakespeare, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
THERE are two problems with deception: being found out and not being found out. In 1794, noted antiquarian Samuel Ireland is delighted when his son William brings him unknown documents in the hand of Shakespeare, obtained from an anonymous source. However, scholars question their authenticity and denounce Samuel as a forger. The household is thrown into turmoil and family skeletons come tumbling out of cupboards.
Roll forward to 2026, when Samuel, William and their housekeeper Mrs Freeman meet again to sort out the truth of it all, if such a thing is possible. So runs Stuart Fortey’s tragicomic, scarcely believable, deceptively truthful tale of 18th century literary fraud and family deceit. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Very Santana: Celebrating Carlos Santana’s songs and guitar mastery at Milton Rooms, Malton
Tribute gig of the week: Very Santana, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm
VERY Santana’s musical time travel experience celebrates the beautiful guitar melodies and creatively diverse, challenging songs of Carlos Santana, performed with room for extra improvisation.
The set list spans the Santana legacy, from the Abraxas album early peaks of Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va and Samba Pa Ti, through the late 1970s’ hits such as Europa and She’s Not There, to the modern-era Grammy winners Smooth and Maria-Maria. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Harry Enfield: No Chums but a cornucopia of comical characters at Grand Opera House, York
Comedy gig of the week: Harry Enfield And No Chums, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
FROM the meteoric rise of Loadsamoney, a Thatcherite visionary, to the fury of Kevin the Teenager, satirical comedian and self-styled “stupid idiot” Harry Enfield reflects on 40 years in comedy, bringing favourite characters vividly back to life on stage.
Then comes your chance to ask how it all works for the former University of York politics student (Derwent College, 1979 to 1982), discover what makes him most proud and find out what would he say to the many who ask, “You wouldn’t be allowed to do your stuff today, would you?”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Elvis Costello: Revisiting his 1977-1986 back catalogue in Radio Soul! at York Barbican in June. Picture: Ray Di Pietro
Gig announcement of the week: Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton, Radio Soul!: The Early Songs Of Elvis Costello, York Barbican, June 17
ELVIS Costello will return to York Barbican for the first time since May 2012’s Spectacular Singing Book tour, joined by The Imposters’ Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher and Texan guitarist Charlie Sexton.
Costello, 71, will focus on songs drawn from 1977’s My Aim Is True to 1986’s Blood & Chocolate in 1986, complemented by “other surprises”. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/elvis-costello/.
Mark Hadfield as Hercule Poirot in Death On The Nile, on tour at Grand Opera House, York, from March 3 to 7. Picture: Manuel Harlan
MARK Hadfield arrives at the Grand Opera House, York, next Tuesday to play legendary private detective Hercule Poirot in the European premiere of a new stage version of Death On The Nile, carrying the approval of none other than Sir Kenneth Branagh.
The two actors are friends. “He’s been incredibly encouraging,” says Mark of his conversations with Sir Kenneth, who has played Agatha Christie’s fastidious puzzle solver in three film outings marked by his moustache topiary.
Encouragement came from Michael Maloney too, another actor friend who took on the role of the Belgian sleuth in the tour of Murder On The Orient Express that visited York last March.
As with the UK and Ireland tour of Death On The Nile, that Fiery Angel production combined Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of a Christie novel by Ken Ludwig with direction by Lucy Bailey.
“They both encouraged me to do this because they said, ‘you will have so much enjoyment in bringing him to life’,” says Mark of Branagh and Maloney. “And I think Death On The Nile is one of Christie’s best stories, so that also drew me in.
“Poirot’s journey within it is fascinating to play, because he goes from being on what he thinks is a relaxing holiday to having to solve a murder.”
The killing in question happens in 1937 when Poirot is holidaying on a luxury steamer on the River Nile in Egypt, where a couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder. Once secrets buried in the sands of time resurface, can the world-famous detective untangle the web of lies to solve the case?
On tour from last October in Salford to May 23 in Plymouth, Mark is following in the orderly steps of Maloney, Branagh, Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov and David Suchet in playing Poirot, a familiar character that has elicited myriad interpretations. “The challenge is to try and incorporate people’s expectations but also to bring in a few surprises,” he says.
“I’m not expecting people to say, ‘oh my God, that was the most original Poirot I’ve ever seen’ by giving him a punk hairdo or what have you. But I hope to find that balance of pleasing people while leaving them going, ‘we haven’t seen that before’.”
After solving a murder on the Orient Express, Poirot is heading into his later years. “He may even be thinking of retiring,” suggests Mark. “He talks about old age and life having passed him by. There’s more of a hint of melancholy than people might be used to from him.”
Mark hopes next week’s audiences will find Death On The Nile to be “delicious, like opening a two-tray box of chocolates where you enjoy the first layer so much that you have to have the second layer too.
Christie’s story combines escapism with a timeless theme. “It’s gloriously evocative of travel in that time, but it’s also about how we should nurture love and try to be as kind as we can,” says Mark. “That’s something we could learn from with everything that’s going on at the moment.”
Mark has performed at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and Sheffield’s Crucible and Lyceum theatres but never in York previously. “York’s theatres have eluded me, though I have visited the city. This will be my first time on a York stage, so I’m really looking forward to it,” he says.
Most memorably on a Yorkshire stage, “I did the original West Yorkshire Playhouse production of The 39 Steps with Fiery Angel in June 2005,” says Mark, who played myriad roles in the guise The Clown in Patrick Barlow’s adaptation, directed by Fiona Buffini.
In another first for Mark, “Death On The Nile is the first time I’ve worked on a production with Lucy [Bailey], though I’ve known her for a long time and I’ve done workshops with her on other projects.
“Very kindly Lucy was very keen for me to do it, and it does help a great deal that the director has seen you have the capability for the part, especially one as illustrious as Poirot.”
Mark continues: “I was desperate to do it, and knowing that Lucy was keen, I didn’t need much convincing, though I had an elderly mother to think about – when ruminating over whether I could do the tour.
“That’s why I met up with Kenneth [Branagh] and Michael [Maloney], the previous Poirots. We met up at a Tottenham match, as Kenneth is a devoted Spurs fan – I’m a Manchester United fan – and he said ‘you have to do it’. That helped with the decision because it was nice to have that support.
Mark Hadfield – with grey moustache – at the publicity photographic shoot for Fiery Angel’s tour of Death On The Nile. Picture: Jay Brooks
“When we met up again, Kenneth shared his research for the role, where he said the thing that struck him most about Poirot was his kindness – when there are so many facets you could pick out: his meticulous attitude, his aloofness. So that was something that stayed in my mind.”
As for Michael Maloney, “he said he loved creating characters and that Poirot had been a joy,” says Mark. “I’ve been finding that too, and I keep finding more, little things where I think, ‘I’ll try that’ as he’s a multi-faceted character and an absolute pleasure to play.”
Mark’s research had included reading film historian Mark Aldridge’s 2020 book Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective In The World, covering the character’s evolution across novels, stage, radio and screen from 1920 to 2020, the centenary of his debut.
This informs his playing of a role that combines familiarity with flexibility. “I know all the performances that have been done on screen, apart from John Malkovich [in BBC One’s The ABC Murders in 2018],” he says.
“I’ve not ignored the likes of Peter Ustnov and Albert Finney, as well as David Suchet. Peter and Albert were so memorable, partly because they each had a very different look, like Albert going for Poirot’s vanity, whereas Peter’s Poirot was very charming and avuncular. With David Suchet, it was the precise, physical aspect.”
Mark’s research also took in reading Christie’s first detective novel, Poirot’s debut in The Mysterious Affair At Styles. “As it’s his first appearance, you get a bit of background, how he came over from Belgium in the First World War, in which he served and was injured, arriving here as a refugee, like Kenneth showed in Murder On The Orient Express.
“I’ve gone for the physicality of Poirot being in his sixties, with a slight limp, using the cane as a necessity, rather than as a fashion accessory. By Death In The Nile, he’s been through a lot, where he’s got to the point where, if he could, he would retire.
“The script backs this up, where he’s reflecting on his life and growing old, where the lovers on board seem incredibly young, whereas he’s an older man who’s seen too much and grown tired.”
Mark continues: “It’s a great leap for the audience to see this man who, in the first half, is looking forward to the trip with the colonel [Colonel Johnnie Race], going up the Nile for rest and recuperation, but then the murder occurs, and he has to revert to being the Poirot everyone expected him to, with him finding this murder particularly distasteful.”
Mike Britton’s set design opens at the British Museum before the luxurious paddle steamer takes centre stage. “It’s a two-tier set with the lover dying on the upper deck,” says Mark. “What we want to achieve is a very claustrophobic feeling, where Mark creates such spaces as a cabin and a saloon by using sliders.
“Theatrically, you have to keep cranking up the tension until the denouement, where you know that everyone on board is a suspect and the intrigue builds as to who’s done it, as everyone has a back story in relation to the character who’s murdered. Everyone has a motive for committing the crime.
“The theatrical setting heightens that tension and suspense, as do the sound effects of Mic Pool, who I worked with previously at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.”
Britton’s set looks “absolutely gorgeous and sumptuous”, says Mark. “He’s done the fabulous costume designs too. He’s done a lot of research to capture the socialite world aboard the steamer in 1937. Everybody looks immaculate.”
Ludwig’s script is vital too. “He’s basically a writer of comedies, doing that very successfully, but here he’s managed to create the suspense and tension while making it witty too, with a nice strain of humour, even at the end,” says Mark.
“It’s a risk, but it works, as the audience goes through the excitement of wondering ‘whodunit’ and we can relieve all that tension with humour.”
Mark’s Poirot will, of course, have a moustache. “It’s quite a challenge as moustaches are mentioned a lot with Poirot, though I know there were films made in the 1930s where Poirot didn’t have a moustache, which caused confusion [Irish actor Austin Trevor’s Poirot in 1931’s Alibi, Black Coffee and Lord Edgware Dies],” he says.
“I haven’t gone for the severity of Kenneth or David’s moustache. I’m greying quite rapidly, and when we did the photos for the press releases, you can see mine is quite grey, but that doesn’t have a dynamic look on stage, where it has to be darker – and I did read that Poirot dyed his hair and moustache.
“I’m letting my moustache grow – so, yes, it’s genuinely attached! – and it’s become a smart, reverent gesture towards moustache twiddling . My wife complains ‘Will you stop playing with your moustache’, but I just can’t stop! It will grow even more, so it does have its own character.”
Glynis Barber’s romantic novelist Salome Otterbourne in Fiery Angel’s Death On The Nile. Picture: Jay Brooks
AMONG those joining Mark Hadfield’s Poirot on the steamer on the Nile will be flamboyant romance novelist Salome Otterbourne, played by Glynis Barber. “In the play, she’s very different to how she is in the book and in the various films – and she’s quite a character, which makes her fun to play,” she says.
“She is larger than life and she brings a lot of energy to the stage. She’s the loudest, bubbliest and most theatrical character, that’s for sure.”
A further draw for Glynis was the team behind Death On The Nile. “Lucy [Bailey] is a fabulous director and Fiery Angel is an amazing company. Plus this one hasn’t been done on stage before in the UK, so that makes it exciting,” she says.
A version of the play was staged in Washington, but now Ken Ludwig has rewritten it for its European premiere. “And the response has been phenomenal,” says Glynis. “I’ve had so many messages from people I know – and people I don’t know- going, ‘I definitely want to see that’. I’ve even got one friend who is flying in from Spain to Edinburgh to see it.”
Death On The Nile is her first theatre work since The Best Man in 2018 in London’s West End. “After the pandemic, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to return to it, because, after being isolated for all that time, I’d gotten cold feet,” says Glynis.
“But the fact that it’s a scary prospect is a good reason to do it, and I thought, ‘if I am going to go back to theatre, this is a really good play to do so with.”
Glynis understands the lure of a Christie story on stage. “The plots keep you guessing and they’re a very good way to escape the world for a couple of hours,” she says. “Who doesn’t want a bit of that, especially these days?”
Highlighting the central theme, Glynis says: “It’s about love, which is deeply pertinent for every age, and in this story it’s a very profound theme. Unless we all become AI bots, love is universal and that is something that will never change.”
Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot in a scene from Fiery Angel’s production of Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan
One last question for Mark Hadfield
How did you settle on your voice for playing Hercule Poirot?
“I worked with a lovely voice and dialect coach, Edda Sharpe. I did a Zoom meeting with her for an hour before rehearsals started, where I did the voice and she said, ‘it’s not far off’.
“All we had to do was make it more Belgian, where the French mouth is tighter and the Belgian mouth is more smiley, so whereas the French say ‘Ze’, the Belgian says ‘de’.
“I also worked with Edda in rehearsals, where she would give me little things to think about. Lucy [director Lucy Bailey] said the focus was to find the tonal range, which makes it interesting.
“That’s been a good challenge, bringing Poirot alive. All these things, we’ve looked at, worked on and reflected on on a daily basis – in case we go to Belgium!”
Fiery Angel presents Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, March 3 to 7, 7.30pm plus Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Glynis Barber’s Salome Otterbourne in Fiery Angel’s 2026 production of Death On The Nile, bound for Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Jay Brooks
GLYNIS Barber and Bob Barrett are to join Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile at the Grand Opera House, York, from March 3 to 7 2026.
Barber will play Salome Otterbourne and Barrett will take the role of the Belgian detective’s trusted friend Colonel Race in the UK & Ireland tour of the European premiere of Ken Ludwig’s new stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1937 thriller.
Death On The Nile will reunite Ludwig, director Lucy Bailey and producers Fiery Angel, whose sell-out tours of Christie’s And Then There Were None and Murder On The Orient Express visited the Grand Opera House in November 2023 and March 2025 respectively.
Glynis Barber became a household name when she starred opposite Michael Brandon in the television series Dempsey And Makepeace. Further TV credits include series regulars Norma Crow in Hollyoaks, Gertrusha in NBC’s The Outpost and Glenda Mitchell in EastEnders, as well as Jean McAteer in The Royal, DCI Grace Barraclough in Emmerdale, Fiona Brake in Night & Day and Soolin in Blake’s 7.
Her previous brushes with Agatha Christie came when she starred as Cora van Stuyvesant in Agatha Christie’s Marple: Endless Night and as Lola Brewster in Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side.
Her recent theatre credits include The Best Man (West End), Stalking The Bogeyman (Southwark Playhouse), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (West End) and The Graduate (UK Tour).
Completing his Agatha Christie hat-trick at the Grand Opera House: Bob Barrett’s Colonel Race in Lucy Bailey’s touring production of Death On The Nile, heading for York next March. Barrett played Doctor Armstrong in And Then There Were None in 2023 and Monsieur Bouc in Murder On The Orient Express in 2025. Picture: Jay Brooks
“I couldn’t be more excited to be returning to the stage and working with the brilliant team at Fiery Angel and director Lucy Bailey,” said Glynis. “This iconic play from Agatha Christie’s phenomenal body of work keeps audiences on the edge of their seat and I can’t wait to be part of a cast that will bring this gripping drama to theatres all over the UK and Ireland.”
Bob Barrett is best known as Sacha Levy in the long-running Holby City, a role he played from 2010 to 2022. On film, he played George Bryan in John Madden’s Shakespeare In Love. On stage, he played the Grand Opera House in And Then There Were None and Murder On The Orient Express.
“To have the chance of being in one Agatha Christie tour, getting to work with the incomparable team of Lucy Bailey and Fiery Angel, was special,” said Bob. “To get to be in three is a great privilege I shall never forget.”
What happens in Death On The Nile? On board a luxurious cruise under the heat of the Egyptian sun, a couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder. As secrets buried in the sands of time finally resurface, can the world-famous detective Hercule Poirot untangle the web of lies and solve another crime?
DirectorLucy Bailey will be joined in the production team by designer Mike Britton, lighting designer Oliver Fenwick, sound designer Mic Pool, movement director Liam Steele and associate director Lucy Waterhouse. Helena Palmer is the casting director.
TheUK & Ireland Tour is presented by Fiery Angel in association with Agatha Christie Limited. Further casting is to be announced.
Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, March 3 to 7 2026, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Age guidance: 12 plus. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The 2026 tour poster for Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile
TWO Big Egos In A Small Car arts podcasters Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson compare notes on their separate interviewing experiences with Marti Pellow, smarty fellow of pop, ahead of his York Barbican greatest hits show on May 3.
Prompted by his Wet Wet Wet exit, Chalmers & Hutch then discuss famous bands’ substitute singers, from Genesis to AC/DC, Black Sabbath to Buzzcocks.
Plus why Kenneth Branagh’s second Agatha Christie revamp, Death On The Nile, bristles with much more than Poirot’s monumental moustache; Harry Sword’s deep dive of a book on drone music, Monolithic Undertow – In search Of Sonic Oblivion… and a Sting in the tail end.
