Agatha Christie’s The Hollow, Theatre Royal Newcastle
I can’t think of a better way to spend a cold Autumn night than seeing a cosy crime play, by an iconic writer, in a beautiful, historic theatre.
The Hollow, based on Agatha Christie’s novel by the same name, is a murder mystery with her famous detective Hercule Poirot at the heart of solving the case.
Set just after the Second World War, the play paints a satirical picture of the upper classes finding their feet after the country’s economic devastation.
In the opening scene guests gather for a weekend at The Hollow, the country estate of Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell, played very well by both Michael Praed (of past Robin Hood and Dynasty fame) and Sarah Moyle.
Each of their guests reveals their often complex web of relationships and misperceptions of each other as the first act progresses. There are affairs and drama and the inevitable crime.
Poirot (Peter Polycarpou) is at The Hollow for lunch and sees the immediate aftermath of the murder but laughs out loud at it as he believes it is a joke until the victim’s blood soaked shirt is revealed. He then has to unpick not only who committed the murder, but why?
The audience are treated to insightful vignettes of the main characters, secret kisses, disparaging remarks behind closed doors and suspicions.
One of the most interesting guests is the Angkatell’s cousin Henrietta, who is a single woman, a sculptor and having an affair with John Cristow, played by Luke Allen-Gale. Her dramatic sculpture of a woman’s torso is the centre point of much of the first half. Victoria Blunt had great stage presence as Henrietta.
The action picks up considerably with the arrival of a film diva, Veronica, staying in a nearby house, who had also been in a relationship with John and wants to rekindle their romance. Kemi-Bo Jacobs was excellent as Veronica and a good counterfoil to the rest of the characters, with her dramatic persona stealing the scenes she was in.
Luke Allen-Gale also plays Inspector Colquhoun called in to investigate the murder and there a very funny moments between him and Poirot which work well.
As a bit of light relief from the drama there are more humorous moments with the Angkatell’s taciturn butler, Gudgeon, well played by James Clyde. Paula Hine’s performance as Doris the maid was also great and had the audience laughing. I particularly liked her scene where she got to do the Charleston, high energy and very well done.
The set and costumes for this production were worth the ticket price alone. They were exquisite. All of the action takes place in a beautiful drawing room, with a plush settee, writing desk, ornamental tables and stained glass windows leading onto a patio filled with plants.
I really enjoyed the attention to detail of the whole staging which brought to life the aristocratic world of the characters. There was a lower height part of the stage where characters such as Poirot would walk to deliver more intimate speeches and it worked well.
Each character’s costume was beautifully designed and really added to the look and feel of this elegant production. The female cast’s evening wear in particular was a real feast for the eyes.
This play was very different to the other Agatha Christie productions I’ve seen. It has more focus on the psychological motives of the characters and why they had acted in certain ways. It seemed to be less complex to me and I did find that slightly less satisfying. However, I do recommend seeing The Hollow for a production which is humorous, authentic and true to Agatha Christie’s original book with an outstanding cast who deliver top class performances throughout.