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?

Starring Michael Maloney (Belfast, Young Victoria, The Crown) as the celebrated Belgian sleuth, 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.

Joining Michael Maloney, the stellar cast includes Bob BarrettMila CarterRebecca CharlesDebbie ChazenSimon CottonJean-Baptiste Fillon, Christine KavanaghPaul KeatingIniki MarianoRishi Rian and Alex Stedman. Also in the cast are Matt Weyland, Jasmine Raymond and Beth Tuckey.

Following a sell-out tour of the best-selling crime novel of all time, And Then There Were None, Fiery Angel and Lucy Bailey (Director of West End Witness For The Prosecution) will bring Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of another Agatha Christie classic to the stage in 2025.

  • ★★★★ ‘Stylish and suspenseful’

  • ★★★★ ‘HIGHLY ENJOYABLE. It will delight die-hard Poirot aficionados and classic whodunit fans alike’

  • ‘A masterpiece of lucid storytelling.’

  • ‘A TRIUMPH. I highly recommend going to watch this show.’

  • ‘GLORIOUS PRODUCTION. Reserve yourself a seat and arrive at the station on time’

Running time: Approx 2hr 15 mins inc. interval

Age recommendation 12+ parental guidance
We don’t want to spoil anyone’s experience of coming to see Murder on the Orient Express, however, if you would benefit from knowing more about specific content and themes in the play, please click below:

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Tour Dates UK and Ireland 2025

  • 14 - 18 Jan 2025 NEWCASTLE Newcastle Theatre Royal BOOK NOW
  • 21 - 25 Jan 2025 GUILDFORD Yvonne Arnaud Theatre BOOK NOW
  • 28 Jan - 1 Feb 2025 BIRMINGHAM The Alexandra BOOK NOW
  • 4 - 8 Feb 2025 SHEFFIELD Lyceum Theatre BOOK NOW
  • 11 - 15 Feb 2025 ABERDEEN His Majesty's Theatre BOOK NOW
  • 18 - 22 Feb 2025 SOUTHAMPTON Mayflower Theatre BOOK NOW
  • 25 Feb - 1 Mar 2025 MILTON KEYNES Milton Keynes Theatre BOOK NOW
  • 4 - 8 Mar 2025 CARDIFF New Theatre BOOK NOW
  • 11 - 15 Mar 2025 BATH Theatre RoyalBOOK NOW
  • 25 - 29 Mar 2025 YORK Grand Opera HouseBOOK NOW
  • 1 - 5 Apr 2025 NOTTINGHAM Theatre RoyalBOOK NOW
  • 8 - 12 Apr 2025 DUBLIN Gaiety Theatre BOOK NOW
  • 22 - 26 Apr 2025 BRIGHTON Theatre Royal BOOK NOW
  • 29 Apr - 3 May 2025 CHELTENHAM Cheltenham Everyman BOOK NOW

About
Agatha Christie

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890 in Torquay, Devon, South West England. Agatha loved to read poetry and began writing poems when she was a child.

In 1912 Agatha met Archie Christie, a qualified aviator who had applied to join the Royal Flying Corps, they soon married. It was war time and Agatha became a nurse at the Red Cross Hospital in Torquay. When the Hospital opened a dispensary, she accepted an offer to work there and completed the examination of the Society of Apothecaries. Thus began her life long interest in the use of poisons. From this came her first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The method of death in this novel is poison and was so well described that Agatha received an unprecedented honour for a writer of fiction - a review in the Pharmaceutical Journal.

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie, 1910s. Photo: public domain

During the First World War there were Belgian refugees in most parts of the English countryside, Torquay being no exception. Although he was not based on any particular person, Agatha thought that a Belgian refugee, a former great Belgian policeman, would make an excellent detective for The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Hercule Poirot was born.

1919 was a momentous year for Agatha. With the end of the war, Archie had found a job in the City and they had just enough to rent a flat in London and later that year on the 5th August, Agatha gave birth to their daughter, Rosalind. Also that year the publisher, John Lane, who had liked The Mysterious Affair at Styles contracted Agatha to produce five more books. She went on to be one of the first authors Penguin ever published, with fantastic results.

Following the war Agatha continued to write and to travel with Archie, though sadly they were later to divorce and Agatha would remarry, Max Mallowan, the world famous archaeologist - a marriage that would last forty-six years.

By 1930, having written several novels and short stories, Agatha had created a new character to act as sleuth. Miss Jane Marple was an amalgam of several old ladies Agatha used to meet in villages she visited as a kid. When she created Miss Marple, Agatha did not expect her to become Poirot's rival, but with The Murder at the Vicarage, Miss Marple’s first full-length outing, it appeared she had produced another popular and enduring character.

One of Agatha’s lifelong ambitions had been to travel on the Orient Express; her first journey took place in 1928. The atmosphere of the Middle East was not lost on Agatha, as can be recognised in books such as Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, Murder in Mesopotamia, Appointment With Death and They Came to Baghdad as well as many short stories.

Agatha Christie is the most successful female playwright of all time, holding world records for being the only female playwright to have three of her plays running simultaneously in London’s West End, and for writing the longest running show of any kind in the world – The Mousetrap. In her lifetime, Christie wrote over 30 stage plays.

After a hugely successful career and a very happy life Agatha died peacefully on 12 January 1976.

Agatha Christie Limited (ACL) has been managing the literary and media rights to Agatha Christie's works around the world since 1955, working with the best talents in film, television, publishing, stage and on digital platforms to ensure that Christie’s work continues to reach new audiences in innovative ways and to the highest standard. The company is managed by Christie’s great grandson James Prichard.

Visit the official home of the best-selling author of all time: www.agathachristie.com