Death on the Nile ★★★ Richmond Theatre | October 7 - 11, 2025


Agatha Christie is a name to conjure with. Her books have sold in the billions, making her perhaps the most widely read author on the planet. The Mousetrap remains the longest-running play in history, while Witness for the Prosecution has enjoyed a London run since 2017. Death on the Nile, one of her most popular novels, has been adapted twice for film, twice for television, and was turned into a stage play by Christie herself in 1944. Can this latest adaptation by Ken Ludwig live up to that remarkable heritage? The sets by Mike Britton cleverly evoke both a cruise ship and The British Museum, and Sarah Holland’s costumes are eye-catching and stylish. The show has a pleasing art deco feel, and despite some initial hesitancy and rather stilted performances at the beginning, the cast eventually achieves the right balance of naturalism and stylised mannerism, which allows us to believe in Christie’s world of suspects. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Mark Hadfield’s Poirot. Whether it was the accent or something else that tripped him up, on the night we attended he stumbled over several lines and failed to exude the suave smugness and self-control of the Belgian detective with the remarkable little grey cells. Though Ludwig’s adaptation successfully establishes the myriad of characters and guides us through the convoluted plot, it falters in its attempts at humour, with jokes that are sophomoric and one line about Canadians that is simply offensive. Poirot’s sentimental moralising at the conclusion is also completely unnecessary, detracting from the simple pleasure of the riddle’s resolution. It is almost as if Ludwig doesn’t trust his material and wishes to impose a misplaced profundity on a story that is, at heart, just good puzzling fun. Christie’s whodunits are always a delight, and this production has the potential to join the ranks of her more successful adaptations, but a few missteps need to be addressed before this venture can truly be smooth sailing.

Rated: ★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Manuel Harlan

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: 1 Little Green, Richmond TW9 1QJ, UK

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