Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile is touring the Uk until the end of May 2026. It’s one of those stories which some have read, has been made into film in 1978 and again recently by Kenneth Branagh and with him in the title role, so it’s a known work. Much like the more commonly known Murder On The Orient Express there is glamour, characters across social classes and multiple potential motives. In this production much of the story takes place on a ship, travelling The Nile river to return an artefact to its rightful home. As the story evolves we can easily see how carefully Christie builds these puzzles.

This touring production understands that balance. It doesn’t try to be overly clever with the material. Instead it lets the story do the work, which is usually the right instinct with Christie. She was a sophisticated and seasoned writer and no stage sorcery is needed to augment her fiction.

That said, the lighting and staging of this production adds a lot, developing the depth of the set with ease, the ripple of light on the water, throwing a moving chiascuro over the performers, contributing to the drama and unease.

The comparison people will inevitably make is with Murder on the Orient Express, which has become a sort of benchmark for Christie adaptations in recent years. That play works because it feels like a locked box with the tension building. Everyone trapped together, nowhere to run, the tension tightening as ease scene progresses.

Death on the Nile is different and yet the same, this time on a river cruise. The sense of people drifting down a river in expensive clothes, pretending to enjoy themselves while quietly resenting each other. There’s a sense of languid luxury at first, almost holiday-like, which makes the murder feel all the more shocking when it lands. It all occurs within beauty, the Egyptian artefact and art and the Art Deco influence on fashion and design.

The mechanics of the plot are famously intricate and watching Poirot unpick the details is always fun, but underneath it there’s always a study of jealousy, vanity and wounded pride. Watching those motives surface  for the audience is that’s where Christie is always strongest.

It’s a chance to see Mark Hadfield who seems to the enjoy the role of Poirot. Glynis Barber who you might recall from Dempsey and Makepeace and Bob Barrett who I recognised from the recent touring production of Murder On The Orient Express and in the same role as Colonel Race.

It’s a beautiful production and an enjoyable evening and if you’d like to be there you can check out their tour website for locations.