Black Coffee

Wyvern Theatre, Swindon

01 -06 September 2014

 

Hercule Poirot returns to the stage this week with the 6 day run of Black Coffee at the Wyvern Theatre.  

 

In the first play ever written by Agatha Christie we are introduced to a character who went onto become the most famous detective of all time and the only fictional character ever to receive a full-page obituary in the New York Times.

 

Review of Black Coffee

by Kelly Jobanputra

 

The accent, the walk, the humour and the presence. Jason Durr from ITV’s hit series Heartbeat gets the part of Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot down to a perfect art during the production of Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee, which is currently running at the Wyvern Theatre.

 

Originally written in 1929, Black Coffee is Christie’s first play and it was first seen at the Embassy Theatre in Swiss Cottage in December 1930.

 

As soon as the show starts the audience are transported into an elegant and highbrow reception area of a mansion for this eleventh production from The Agatha Christie Theatre Company.

 

It’s the ninth year of this company and they work closely with Agatha Christie Limited and her grandson, Mathew Prichard, to ensure the plays are performed as she would of wanted.

 

This show, which really does grip you from the very beginning in a classic case of ‘who done it’, also stars Gary Mavers who is best known for playing heart-throb doctor Andrew Attwood in Peak Practice and Ben Nealon, who was Captain Forsythe in the ITV drama Soldier Soldier.

Also included in this year’s cast are Deborah Grant, who was in Not Going Out, Peak Practice and Bergerac, and Oliver Mellor, who played Dr. Matt Carter in Coronation Street for four years.

 

Finally but not least, the performance also includes Georgina Leonidas, who was Katie Bell in the last two Harry Potter movies. The audience’s attention are kept on the edge of their seats until the show finishes at 10pm, being helped by the fact that there are two well-placed intervals during the night.

 

The performance was Directed by Joe Harmston, who has created all the productions of Christie’s work since the company began eight years ago, and produced by Bill Kenwright who has more credits under his belt than most of us have had hot dinners.

 

This production of crime, which started at the Windsor Theatre Royal before it then went on a nationwide tour, without a doubt included outstanding acting and went off without a hitch. 

 

An Interview with star Georgina Leonidas

 

SwindonWebTV was recently lucky enough to meet with Georgina to discuss her involvement in Black Coffee, as well as her role in the Harry Potter movies.

  

 

Synopsis

 

A quintessential English country estate is thrown into chaos following the murder of eccentric inventor Sir Claud Amory, and the theft of his new earth shattering formula. Arriving at the estate just moments too late, one man immediately senses a potent brew of despair, treachery, and deception amid the estate's occupants. That man is Hercule Poirot.

 

Please contact the Wyvern Theatre for further details.