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 the 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.
TOUR SCHEDULE 2024
6-14 September The Lowry, Salford www.thelowry.com
17-21 September Norwich Theatre Royal norwichtheatre.org
24-28 September Theatre Royal Plymouth www.theatreroyal.com
1-5 October Canterbury Marlowe Theatre www.marlowetheatre.com
8-12 October Glasgow King’s Theatre https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre-glasgow
15-19 October Curve, Leicester www.curveonline.co.uk
22-26 October Edinburgh Festival Theatre www.capitaltheatres.com
29 October – 2 November Cambridge Arts Theatre www.cambridgeartstheatre.com
5-9 November Richmond Theatre, London www.atgtickets.com/Richmond
12-16 November Malvern Festival Theatre www.malvern-theatres.co.uk
19-23 November Truro Hall for Cornwall www.hallforcornwall.co.uk
2025
14-18 January Newcastle Theatre Royal www.theatreroyal.co.uk
21-25 January The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk
28 January – 1 February Birmingham The Alexandra www.atgtickets.com/birmingham
4-8 February Sheffield Lyceum www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
11-15 February Aberdeen His Majesty’s Theatre aberdeenperformingarts.com
18-22 February Southampton Mayflower Theatre www.mayflower.org.uk
25 February – 1 March Milton Keynes Theatre www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre
4-8 March New Theatre, Cardiff www.trafalgartickets.com/new-theatre-cardiff
11-16 March Theatre Royal Bath theatreroyal.org.uk on sale 24 May
25-29 March York Grand Opera House www.atgtickets.com/york
1- 5 April Nottingham Theatre Royal www.trch.co.uk
8-12 April Gaiety Theatre, Dublin www.gaietytheatre.ie
22-26 April Theatre Royal Brighton www.atgtickets.com/brighton
29 April – 3 May Cheltenham Everyman Theatre everymantheatre.org.uk
