"Murder On The Orient Express" by Agatha Christie.

Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Winter 1934 and an avalanche stops The Orient Express dead in its tracks. A murder. A train full of suspects. An impossible case. 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?

Poirot is called back from Istanbul to London on urgent business. He intends to book a first-class compartment on the Orient Express, run by his former friend and colleague, Monsieur Bouc. The train is surprisingly full, but Bouc manages to secure Poirot a spot in the first-class cabin. 

While aboard the Orient Express, Poirot meets a host of peculiar characters: an aging Russian princess, her Swedish companion, an Hungarian countess, a Minnesota housewife, a Scottish colonel, an English governess, a French conductor, a disagreeable American businessman, and his anxious secretary. While aboard the train, the angry businessman, Samuel Ratchett, corners Poirot and demands Poirot to investigate a series of ominous letters that have been sent to Ratchett, threatening his life.

When the story starts we see a flashback as part of a video scene on the backdrop of a young girl called Daisy Armstrong, who had been kidnapped, later we discover that she had been murdered, but what is the connection with this flashback film and the patrons of The Orient Express today?

Michael Maloney plays Christie's most famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Certain that the crime was committed by someone on the train, he confidently and patiently works his way to a shocking solution. The on stage Poirot is just a little more volatile when compared to the David Suchet character we see on TV, and while being a big fan of Suchet's interpretation, I do rather like this provoking style of interrogation portrayed by Maloney.

Bob Barrett is Monsieur Bouc, a friend of Poirot and the director of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits. There are some lovely, slightly camp flourishes from Bouc which introduces some flashes of comedy. Bouc appears removed from the crime, often acting as Poirot’s sounding board, but no one on the train is above suspicion!

Mila Carter plays the Countess Elena Andrenyi, one of the main protagonists of the play. Beautiful, educated, charming, and intelligent enough to match wits with Poirot. She seems too good to be true — but is she a murderer?

Debbie Chazen plays Princess Dragomiroff, a well-off Russian aristocrat who lived in Paris. The Princess is a battleship: determined, arrogant, and accustomed to getting her way. She travels a great deal and holds very decided opinions. Expensively dressed and handsomely bejeweled, she certainly wouldn’t need to kill for money. But might she have another motive?

Rebecca Charles plays Greta Olsson. A Catholic missionary and baby nurse, currently serving as a companion to Princess Dragomiroff. She would like to help small children in Africa. Deeply devout. Plain and modest, Greta has a frightened, sheep-like quality about her. There is something odd about this woman, though. Could she be harbouring a deadly secret?

Simon Cotton is Samuel Ratchett. A dangerous and unlikable man, full of entitlement, with a hair trigger temper. He’s made plenty of enemies… almost everyone has wished him dead. But whodunit and what is the motive?

Jean-Baptiste Fillon is Michel. Competent and organized, Michel is the conductor for the first class carriages of the Orient Express. Handles himself well in a crisis, and is very good at his job. He’s seen a lot in his years on the Orient Express, and he knows his way around the train, making him particularly well positioned to get away with murder.

Christine Kavanagh plays Helen Hubbard. Not exactly what she seems, Hubbard comes across as a gregarious, loud, obnoxious American busybody who has been married multiple times, and a bit of a flirt. She seems the least likely to commit murder, but is there something about her the others don’t know?

Paul Keating plays Hector MacQueen. Personal assistant and secretary to Samuel Ratchett, MacQueen is a nervous character with a stutter that appears when he is especially anxious. He appears to be suppressing something. Perhaps he knows more than he is willing to tell.

Iniki Mariano is Mary Debenham, the Governess with a quick mind, cool as well as calculated, who straight away attracts the attention of Poirot, not only for her mind, but also her looks. She has a certain sadness about her, as well as many secrets.

Rishi Rian is The Colonel, or to give his full name, Colonel James Arbuthnot, father of Daisy Armstrong and Sonia Armstrong's husband. A military man of the old fashioned type, used to being obeyed without question. Strong, charismatic, but also problematic in some of his personal views. He’s hopelessly in love with Mary. Would he kill for her?

Alex Stedman plays The Head Waiter of the Tokatilian Hotel. Professional in demeanor, he is knowledgeable and a bit overconfident. Mystery fans know it’s a cliché, but never rule out the possibility that The Butler Did It, or even The Head Waiter!

Matt Weyland, Jasmine Raymond and Beth Tuckey make up the ensemble.

Directed by Lucy Bailey, this play whizzes along at great pace, and the interval came around faster than I had anticipated. There's a well balanced dose of comedy as well as plenty of drama, and if you haven't seen this film, or read Christie's novel, the ending and big reveal contains one very big twist! 

The stage has a revolving stage which means we get to see all angles of the train carriages, and also means that the carriages can be separated so that we can either see the train in sections or as a section of the whole group of carriages.

Set Design is by Mike Britton and away from the ingenious idea of the sectioned and revolving train carriages, the other scenes also make good use of the revolving section when at the hotel so that we can focus on the other travellers and their conversations, while still having everyone in view.

With this being a period piece of theatre the Costumes (Sarah Holland), Wigs, hair and Make-Up (Elizabeth Marini) really bring that period to life in all of its' glamour and style. 

Lighting Designer is Oliver Fenwick and Sound Designer is by Mic Pool. There's no creeping soundscape to speak of but the combination of both designs does create a certain tension at assigned parts of the story.

Ian William Galloway's Video Design gives the back story of the kidnapping of Daisy Armstrong, as well as creates the snow storm, plus shows shadowed images all above the train itself.

"Murder On The Orient Express" will be pulling out of the Nottingham Theatre Royal on Saturday 5 April, so make sure you get your tickets prior to its' departure, because it'd be a crime to miss out!

 A Night At The Musicals by Star Live Entertainment Ltd.

Westgate Suite, Long Eaton.

This was Star Light Entertainment's first show and, as I had expected, it was a complete success. Let's face it, anything that is to do with musical theatre is going to be a good night out for me. Anything that is to do with musical theatre and is presented by such incredibly talented singers makes a great night out for me; and Friday night was a great night out for me.

Stephen Mura, Tom Bond, Lindsey Greasley, Joe Millward, Kate Jones and Lauren Rose gave some pretty powerful performances of some well known, and some not so well known musical theatre songs from some great musicals.

Normally I am able to pick out at least a few of my favourite bits from a concert or theatre show, but with this one I was stuck for opting for any over any other. It was like a greatest hits of musical theatre compilation set.

Songs like "I Know Him So Well" from "Chess", "Waving Through A Window" from "Dear Evan Hansen","Maybe This Time" from "Cabaret", "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" from "Beautiful" and the ultimate crowd pleaser for any celebration, "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" from "Jersey Boys", which saw all six performers on stage, sated the passing musical theatre fan.

Hardcore fans loved the dramatic and drama in "Suddenly Seymour" from "Little Shop Of Horrors", "This Is The Momentation" a mix of "This Is The Moment" and "Confrontation" from "Jekyll And Hyde". "Till I Hear You Sing" from "Love Never Dies", "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from "Phantom Of The Opera" and "Give My Life For You" from "Miss Saigon".

There were humorous songs like "Gaston" from "Beauty And The Beast" which then went into "You And Me (But Mostly Me)" from "Book Of Mormon", "The Negative" from "Waitress"and "Mama Says" from "Footloose".

Interwoven in these were the not so well known songs and musicals like "Stars And The Moon" from "Songs For A New World", "She's Too Far Above Me" from "Half A Sixpence", "I Love Betsy" from "Honeymoon In Vegas"and "Where Are All The People" from "Chaplin".

And then there were the classic musicals featured "Show Me" from "My Fair Lady", "East To Dance With" from "Top Hat" and "Can't Take That Away From Me" from "Crazy For You".

For younger fans there was also "Dancing Through Life" and "What Is This Feeling" from the current musical theatre hit "Wicked" and "Make A Man Out Of You" from "Mulan".

This is not the full playlist either but shows the variety of music that these six performers - I won't say singers because they did more than sing, they performed the songs, and if this first outing for Star Live Entertainment's Night at the Musicals, then I for one can not wait to see what their next show is like.

What also made this night so good was the quality of the sound. I've been to shows similar to this before and the sound was not as good as this. The sound mix did not shy away from being bold and powerful, but didn't drown out these fantastic voices, and was as clear as if there was a live orchestra in the room. It's plain to see and hear that the backing tracks used were of the best quality, completely complimenting the vocalists.

The evening concluded with a DJ set until last orders at 11.30.

If you see Star Live Entertainment's Night At the Musicals advertised in the future, make sure you grab yourself a ticket or two and wallow in an evening of top class performers, performing top class tunes.

 "Macbeth" by Lace Market Theatre Youth Group.

Lace Market Theatre.

The darkest, spookiest and bloodiest of Shakespeare’s tragedy plays, and also the most exciting. It’s the story of the lust for power and greed and how this all comes at a deadly price for those who seek it.

A coven of witches envisage that Macbeth will be the King of Scotland, and once this prophecy has been received by Macbeth, he decides to make sure that this vision becomes a reality, and that means getting rid of a few people that stand in his way. Ambition and drive though can come with terrifying consequences, as Macbeth and his family soon discover.

We have three young actors playing the lead role of Macbeth, Binobi Bear, Emily Wilson and Noah Ash. We see various stages of Macbeth with these three actors, and there were clever transitions from each actor to the next, which reminded me slightly of how new Dr Whos are introduced to the programme.

Each of the three actors gave very good performances showing the growth in Macbeth and his power. Noah, who finalised the trilogy exuded power and anger, especially during his final battle with MacDuff; Emily gave a slightly alternative, but no less powerful performance, and Binobi's banquet scene was done exceedingly chillingly. 

Another scene that was done afresh was the "Is this a dagger that I see before me" scene where Macbeth sees the dagger that is used to murder Duncan, held aloft by one of the witches, giving us the idea of the invisibility of the witches, which also explains that wherever the witches appeared in other scenes, we knew that they could  not be seen.

Lady Macbeth is played by Viola Herbert. There are some wonderfully coercive scenes involving Lady Macbeth, and several versions of the play indicate that she is the puppet master, and Viola brings that possibility to the stage. Lady Macbeth's "All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand" speech, where she expresses her guilt and inability of any remedy to wash away the stain of her actions is presented really well, and Viola brings a real passion for Shakespeare, as well as a real understanding of the character. 

There are normally only three witches in this play but seven youngsters play the Witches; Alicia Carolea, Anya Burrows, Keeley Nason, Lauren Tanner, Liv Fenyn, Raya Harris and Tilly Plant. There are witches in practically every scene which gives that impression that they follow the characters around wherever they go; quite an eerie feeling, and the physicality of the witches, cricking their necks, jerky movements etc. create that feel of unease. I do not know which witch was which but the young lady with the long black hair was extremely unnerving with her staring eyes and ever grinning smile.

What I also liked was the decision to have the witches collect the dead, almost in a way that the dark evil shadows in the film "Ghost" appeared after a death to transport them down to hell. The decision to have so many witches was novel and I can see why this was now because the closed in on the death scenes and spirited away the corpses.

Banquo is played by Sonny Hale. Sonny's reappearance at the banquet scene looks great, well not so great for Banquo as - for anyone who doesn't know - is dead! Great make up for this appearance and a great reveal as the cowled figure takes his place at the table.

Macduff is played by Rory Squire. Every actor on stage have done their homework on the characters and their back story and have great understanding of the script and how to deliver the script. Rory is just one of many standout actors for me and delivers extreme passion in every scene. The scene with Macbeth at the end is acted so well with the fight choreography being frighteningly real. 

I don't think this is really a spoiler as most people know the outcome, but when Macduff drives his sword into Macbeth's chest, you get the feeling that Rory really is enjoying this particular scene, and looks incredibly real. In fact all of the death scenes throughout this Scottish play are done incredibly well.

King Duncan, the victim of a well-plotted murder in a power grab by his trusted captain Macbeth and his wife,  is played by Alfie Saxton.

Malcolm, one of two sons of Malcolm is played by Jess Erwin-Jones. Malcolm flees to England after his father's death, later rallying an army to overthrow Macbeth and restore order to Scotland. 

Donalbain, Malcolm's other son, and Mentieth, one of the Scottish noblemen who opposes Macbeth, is played by Tom Harbord.

Fleance (son of Banquo), Macduff's Son and Young Siward are played by Logan Cordall. I mentioned earlier about the realism of the death scenes, and I must say that I actually winced with the scene that Logan played when he was stabbed to death in the second act. As Macduff's son he also gets to die dramatically.

Ross is played by Chantee Parsons-Vaughn. Ross acts as a messenger repeatedly in the play, delivering the news of the Thane of Cawdor’s treachery to Duncan, announcing to Macbeth that he has been promoted to Thane, reporting to Macduff that his family has been slaughtered, and finally telling Siward of his son’s death in battle.

Lennox is played Mikey Cleaver. Lennox is  one of the Thanes who deserts Macbeth once Malcolm invades, bringing reinforcements to Malcolm’s army, and is well-informed of who is with Malcolm.

Lady Macduff is played by Abigail Williams-Smith. Not a very big part as Macbeth has her killed off with Macduff's children while he away plotting his overthrow of Macbeth.

Caithness is played by Esme Kirkby. As a Scottish nobleman and loyal supporter of King Duncan, Caithness finds himself caught in the midst of the power struggle and treachery that consumes the kingdom.

Seyton is played by Amelie McKiernan-Haynes. Seyton serves an important role in the play as a loyal servant to Macbeth

The Priest, the Attendant and the Doctor are played by Jack Carter.

Macbeth's Servant is played by Ruby Hingley.

Captain Siward, The Earl of Northumberland and leader of the English army, is played by Edgar Shelton.

Angus is played by Freya Snowball-Hill. Like all the Thanes Angus is loyal to Duncan and hates any traitors.

Lady Macbeth's Gentlewoman is played Sylvie Monaghan.

I have always said that young people should actually experience Shakespeare in the theatre, not just given the book to read and write precis's of characters at school in Literature lessons. My only experience of Shakespeare at school was reading "The Merchant Of Venice" and having to write about Shylock. I didn't take to the script or the story, but my love for the Bard may have had deeper roots if I'd have been taken to a theatre to see something like this on stage.

This cast have obviously done their homework and also obviously love the stories because the passion comes across, as well the understanding of the script and character from the stage. I've seen so many versions of "Macbeth" over the years, but for me, the play is like a favourite record. If the tune and the words are good, you can hear several different versions and genres of said song, and still enjoy the record. A good Director can deliver a fresh tune that people can enjoy, whether it's the first listen or the person loves the song and likes to hear a new and fresh version. I know, weird analogy, but I always like to hear how a fresh remix can refresh an old tune. You get what I'm saying here?

Directed by Malcolm Todd, assisted by Ian Smith and Ben Dixon. This trio have given me a fresh remix that I have enjoyed playing. There are things in this production that is new i.e. the use of more than three witches, but there were scenes that just seemed new to the story that, maybe I had forgotten, but now appeared fresh in the hands of this cast and Directors. In other words, this production is right up there with some of the best versions of this play that I've seen on stage.

Set Design is by Alex Hopkirk-Spratt, and the set is constructed by Alex Hopkin-Spratt, Anthony Inkley, Guy Evans, Aaron Connelly, Stuart Severn, Steve Musson, Chris Coleman and Laurence Bembridge. When you walk into the theatre, the initial impact is huge, especially with the big central construction. The simplicity of turning a tree trunk into the table for the banquet and the paintings on either side of the stage of the bloodied hands on a black background makes you think that the blood of the murdered characters are really in the creation of the castle walls. Very evocative.

Lighting Design is by Allan Green. There were many scenes that were in half light which created just the right mysterious and eerie feel to this dark play.

Sound Design is by Aaron Connelly. As always with the Lace Market Theatre, the sound is always extremely clear. All actors have really good projection so mics are not needed, and I heard every word from every actor. Sometimes with young actors projection can be an issue, possibly due to nerves, but that was not an issue with this play, in fact much of the anger and passion which is needed for a play like this creates the need for natural voice projection, which they all had.

Stage Manager for this large cast is Gareth Morris and having someone as experienced as Gareth in charge of this role meant that the pace was really kept up, often with one group of actors exiting while the next lot were already on their way to the stage. Assistant Stage Manager is Alex Hayball.

Props, and there are quite a few are managed by Ali Lit and Lesley Brown.

Max Bromley's costumes are yet another fantastic and apt highlight of this production.

There's even a Witches Coordinator, who is Lucie Conroy, making sure that everything relating to the Witches, from the movements and set placing for them are taken care of and co-ordinated.

Fight Co-ordinator is thanks to Jon Buckeridge from Action Combat. As I have already commented on above, the inclusion of this external team has profited the young cast and gives excellent realism to all of the battle scenes.

"Macbeth" has long been my favourite Shakespeare tragedy, and this is the youngest cast I have seen perform this play. They may be the youngest but that was soon forgotten due to the energy and passion (I know I use that word a lot but I really do mean it) and this production is right up there for quality, excitement and energy with all but one production (I was not a fan of the touring Royal Shakespeare Company's version from a few years ago), so this is even better than the RSC version in my humble opinion. I am also sure that this cast will remember this production for as long as the enthusiastic audience will, and that for me is going to be a very long time.

"Macbeth" is at the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 29 March.

Photography by Grace Eden Photography