Preview:Black Coffee at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Poirot Returns to the Stage After 40 Years

Black Coffee  

Newcastle Theatre Royal 

Mon 14 – Sat 19 July 2014

Agatha Christie’s much celebrated Belgian detective Poirot will be appearing at Newcastle Theatre Royal this summer in the first major revival of the only play to feature him in 40 years.  Espionage classic Black Coffee appears Mon 14 – Sat 19 July.

Jason Durr (Heartbeat) stars as world famous Hercule Poirot. Having recently appeared on UK stages in the title role of Sherlock Holmes: The Best Kept Secret, Durr’s previous Poirot-training saw him emerge as a household name following starring roles in hit television series such as Lewis (ITV); Midsomer Murders (ITV) Miss Marple: The Blue Geranium (ITV); Inspector Morse (ITV); The Chief (ITV) and, of course, Heartbeat (ITV) where he consolidated his heartthrob status playing the role of PC Mike Bradley for six years. 

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.

Black Coffee features a heavy-weight cast including Agatha Christie Company regulars: Liza Goddard, star of such TV hits as Bergerac and the long-running Give Us A Clue, Gary Mavers who is best known for playing heart-throb doctor Andrew Attwood in Peak Practice and Ben Nealon, perhaps best loved for his role as Capt. Forsythe in the ITV drama Soldier Soldier.

From the pen of the great Dame Christie – (who, having sold over 2 billion books worldwide is outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare) - Poirot debuted in Christie’s 1920 novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, making his first - and only - stage outing in the mistress of murder’s debut play, Black Coffee.

The Belgian investigator went on to become one of world’s most cherished and long-lived fictional characters, appearing in 33 novels, one play and more than 50 short stories published between 1920 and 1975. To this day he remains the only fictitious character to receive a front-page obituary in the New York Times.

His legend has proved ripe for adaptation and Poirot has been portrayed in comics, on radio and on screen for films and television, by actors such as Albert Finney, Sir Peter Ustinov, Sir Ian Holm, Alfred Molina and David Suchet who, of course, played the eponymous hero in the ITV series since 1989, through the entire catalogue of books and dozens of short stories. He recently bid audiences an emotional farewell as Series 13 of the classic series concluded with his demise in Christie’s dramatic farewell, Curtain.

Such is Poirot’s on-going popularity that the first official novel to continue Christie’s work will be published in September 2014. Written by crime writer and poet Sophie Howard, the title alone will be announced this Summer with the support of the Christie estate.

Intrigue and suspense form the back-bone of this classic spy-thriller which follows The Agatha Christie Theatre Company’s hugely successful; The Hollow, The Unexpected Guest, And Then There Were None, Spider’s Web (which played at Newcastle Theatre Royal in 2009) Witness for the Prosecution, Verdict, Murder on the Nile and Go Back For Murder.

Presented by Bill Kenwright by special arrangement with Agatha Christie Ltd.

Black Coffee appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Mon 14 – Sat 19 July 2014 (Evenings: 7.30pm, Matinees: Thursday 2pm and Saturday 2.30pm). Tickets are from £12.00 (a booking fee of 95p - £1.95 will apply to most tickets) and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

UK Tour:

9-14 Jun 2014	Everyman Theatre	01242 572573
	Cheltenham
23-28 Jun 2014	Bord Gais Theatre	+353 (1) 677 7999
	Dublin
30 Jun-5 Jul 2014	Severn Theatre	01743 281 281
	Shrewsbury
7-12 Jul 2014	Alexandra Theatre	0844 871 3011
	Birmingham
14-19 Jul 2014	Theatre Royal	0844 811 2121
	Newcastle
18-23 Aug 2014	New Victoria Theatre	0844 871 7645
	Woking
26-30 Aug 2014	Oxford Playhouse	01865 305 305
	Oxford
1-6 Sep 2014	Wyvern Theatre	01793 524 481
	Swindon
8-13 Sep 2014	Grand Theatre	01792 475715
	Swansea
15-20 Sep 2014	Princess Theatre	0844 871 3023
	Torquay
22-27 Sep 2014	Civic Theatre	01325 486555
	Darlington
29 Sep-4 Oct 2014	Pomegranate	01246 345222
	Chesterfield
6-11 Oct 2014	Churchill Theatre	0844 871 7620
	Bromley
13-18 Oct 2014	Rose Theatre	08444 821 556
	Kingston
20-25 Oct 2014	His Majesty's Theatre	01224 641122
	Aberdeen
27 Oct-1 Nov 2014	Floral Pavilion	0151 666 0000
	New Brighton
3-8 Nov 2014	Theatre Royal	0844 871 7647
	Glasgow
10-11 Nov 2014	Lyceum Theatre	01270 368 242
	Crewe
17-22 Nov 2014	Opera House	0844 871 3018
	Manchester
24-29 Nov 2014	Derby Theatre	01332 59 39 39
	Derby