TV News: Big Four reunite for Poirot's The Big Four

I'm pleased to see the return of Japp, Hastings and Miss Lemon!

From an ITV press release yesterday:

Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran are reunited with David Suchet for Agatha Christie’s The Big Four.

Last seen together in the television adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran are back to reprise their iconic roles as Captain Hastings, Inspector Japp and Miss Lemon alongside David Suchet as the legendary Hercule Poirot in The Big Four.

Adapted by award-winning screenwriter and actor Mark Gatiss and actor Ian Hallard, The Big Four plunges Poirot into a world of global espionage where he uncovers a theatrical tale of murder, secrets, lies and love, set against the backdrop of the impending World War II.

As a deadly game of chess unfolds, Russian grandmaster, Dr Ivan Savaranoff (Michael Culkin) meets a shocking end, sending the public spiralling into panic, as suspicion is cast upon Peace Party stalwarts Abe Ryland (James Carroll Jordan) and Madame Olivier (Patricia Hodge). In one of his toughest challenges yet, Poirot must work out who the good guys are from the bad, as a complex plot sees a host of international figures used like pawns by a gang of dangerous dissidents tagged “The Big Four”.

As the murders and disappearances stack up one by one, Poirot is joined in his investigations by his old friend Japp (Philip Jackson), the dogged journalist Tysoe (Tom Brooke), and struggling actress, Flossie Monro (Sarah Parish), in an attempt to snare the killer and shatter “The Big Four” for good.

Poirot & Me by David Suchet (Press Release)

I'm looking forward to this one, Poirot and Me by David Suchet and Geoffrey Wansell:

Press Release:

Headline’s Emma Tait has acquired the world rights in Poirot and Me by David Suchet, writing with Geoffrey Wansell.

Filming is about to commence on the very last episodes of the international television phenomenon Agatha Christie’s Poirot. These final five episodes will mean that all the Poirot stories have been filmed with Suchet in the starring role. In Poirot and Me David Suchet will reflect, for the first time, on the 24 years that he has played the role and the fondness he has formed for the eccentric Belgian detective, and his fans worldwide.

The book was bought at auction from Michael Alcock at Johnson and Alcock. Headline plans to publish in autumn 2013.

Emma Tait: ‘I am so excited to be publishing this book, which offers a unique opportunity in television publishing. Rather than an outsider's overview, it is the story of an iconic role told by the actor himself and it is fantastic to be working so closely with David and Geoffrey. I believe it will be a very special book and a wonderful way for David to bid farewell to his old friend Hercule Poirot.’

David Suchet and Geoffrey Wansell: ‘We are thrilled to be given this chance by Headline to bring his portrayal of Hercule Poirot to life for his millions of fans around the world. It's a wonderful – and rare – opportunity for a character actor to be able to explain his life and craft and exactly how he brought such a famous character to television audiences in more than eighty countries.’

Extracts from book:

“He was as real to me as he had been to her, a great detective, a remarkable man, if, perhaps, just now and then, a little irritating. He had inhabited my life every bit as much as he must have done hers as she wrote thirty-three novels, more than fifty short stories, and a play about him – making Poirot the most famous fictional detective in the world alongside Sherlock Holmes.

But how had it come to this? How had I come to inhabit his morning jacket and pin-striped trousers, his black patent leather shoes and his elegantly brushed grey Homburg hat for so many years? What brought us together? Was there something in me that found a particular echo in this short, tubby man in his sixties given to pince-nez and saying ‘chut’ instead of ‘ssh’?

Looking back now, these many years later, I suspect in my heart there was.”

“In the end Brian and I came up with a moustache that we both thought exactly conveyed what Dame Agatha had in mind – a small, neat, carefully waxed one that curled upwards at each end, and where the tip of each of end of the moustache would be level with the tip of my nose. For us it was the best-looking waxed moustache in England, and exactly what Hercule Poirot must have.”

More Poirot & Marple on ITV1

Separate announcements today have revealed that 5 more Poirots and 3 more Marples are on their way.

From The Telegraph:

Five new films, based on a mixture of novels and short stories, will go into production next year.

Suchet said: ''I'm more than delighted to be reprising my role as Poirot. It's been my life's ambition to bring this amazing canon of works to completion on ITV.

The new films include Curtain, which is Poirot's last case and sees the detective, immobilised with arthritis, call on his old friend Captain Hastings to help him as they return to the scene of their first ever case to try to prevent another murder.

And in an ITV press release:

ITV is delighted to announce that acclaimed stage and television actress Julia McKenzie will return to her role as Miss Marple.

Three Marple films including Caribbean Mystery have been commissioned from ITV Studios and Agatha Christie Ltd.

A Caribbean Mystery will be the first film to be shot during the summer of 2012 with two further films Endless Night and The Seven Dials Mystery produced during the autumn of 2012.

Review: The Capture of Cerberus & The Incident of the Dog's Ball by Agatha Christie read by David Suchet

Hercule Poirot in The Capture of Cerberus & The Incident of the Dog's Ball by Agatha Christie read by David Suchet (AudioGo, September 2011, ISBN: 9781408468593, 2 CDs (1hr 25 mins))

Some background information taken from the back cover:
In 2004, a remarkable archive was unearthed at Agatha Christie’s family home, Greenway – 73 of her private notebooks, filled with pencilled jottings and ideas. Hidden within this literary treasure trove were two rare, never-before-published short stories, discovered by archivist John Curran and published in his book ‘Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making’.

‘The Capture of Cerberus’ was intended to be the twelfth in her collection of Poirot stories, ‘The Labours of Hercules’, but she eventually rewrote it, keeping only the title.

‘The Incident of the Dog’s Ball’, probably written in 1933, was reworked as the novel ‘Dumb Witness’ (1937) with a different murderer and motive.

Review: In The Capture of Cerberus, Hercule Poirot is in Geneva. The Second World War is looming and he wishes that people would be passionate about peace rather than fighting. A meeting with the fascinating Countess Vera Rossakoff leads him to investigate a case for a German man who cannot believe that his son assassinated an important leader. Poirot must find the truth for him.

In The Incident of the Dog's Ball Poirot appears in a more typical investigation, when he receives a very delayed letter in the post from an elderly lady who is troubled. When Poirot and Captain Hastings go to visit her, they are too late - she has died. The companion inherits, cutting out the two heirs. Was the death natural causes, or murder?

A fabulous coup for AudioGO, getting the actor who is Poirot to narrate these two rediscovered stories. David Suchet has a compelling natural voice and of course can perform the necessary accents and voices well (with the exception of the oddly Welsh sounding Russian one given to Vera Rossakoff). In The Capture of Cerberus gives a glimpse into life as tension grew in Europe and is a rather different tale than you might expect from the author associated with vicarages and stately homes. In this one Poirot plays more of a central control figure, getting others to do the leg-work, rather than getting out himself. The Incident of the Dog's Ball, which is a few minutes longer than the other story, is a cut down version of a typical Poirot investigation - you may be able to solve the case before Poirot, just.

With the number of new Suchet/Poirot/Christie episodes on the tv running low, as most have been filmed now, I'm very grateful for these additional two stories which I enjoyed listening to.

More Poirot episodes?

From Digital Spy:

David Suchet has revealed that he wants to continue playing Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot until he has filmed the novelist's "complete works".

The 62-year-old confessed that he had experienced mixed emotions at the thought of leaving behind the Belgian detective that he first portrayed in 1989.

"I feel two emotions, great sadness to leave him, and 700 million people watch it throughout the world, but also terrific joy if I am given the opportunity to do the complete works," he said, as he accepted the Freedom of the City of London today.

"It really depends if the money is there because they might not have the funding. We are filming four episodes this year, which will leave six more to do and that will be the complete works. He doesn't exist after that."

The character of Hercule Poirot appeared in 33 novels and 51 short stories. Suchet has starred in more than 60 feature-length shows in the ITV franchise.

James Bond Radio Drama

Radio 4 have lined up a fabulous cast for a radio drama to be broadcast on 24 May. James Bond is played by Toby "Mr Rochester" Stephens and Dr No by David "Poirot" Suchet.

From BBC news:

Actor Toby Stephens, who played villain Gustav Graves in Die Another Day, will play James Bond in the first full radio adaptation of Dr No.

Poirot star David Suchet will play villain Dr No in the Radio 4 adaption, being broadcast on 24 May to mark 100 years since author Ian Fleming's birth.

The station will also air a documentary following Fleming's niece's attempts to find out more about her uncle.

The two programmes are of a season honouring the Bond creator.

In James Bond, The Last Englishman, Professor David Cannadine argues that the Bond novels have played a key role in shaping England's national self-image.

Radio 4 will also re-run Amis, Amis and Bond, featuring writer Martin Amis talking about his father's obsessive interest with Bond and Fleming's writing.

Published in 1958, Dr No was Fleming's sixth Bond novel, and four years later became the first to be made into a film.

It sees Bond sent to Jamaica to investigate the mysterious disappearance of two of his colleagues.

The Radio 4 adaptation's cast also includes Samuel West, John Standing, Martin Jarvis and Peter Capaldi.

Poirot - Interactive DVD Game & PC Games

The good news about being a bit late in the 'game' as it were, (this came out last November), is that it's now only £6.99 at HMV.

Summary:
Can you solve Agatha Christie's classic murder mystery, After The Funeral? Take Poirot's challenge to find clues hidden in this unique Murder Mystery DVD game! Entertainment for all the family - play a series of exciting games and puzzles to test your detective skills in 'observation', 'analysis' and 'intuition' as you try to identify the murderer!

DVD Extras:
Exclusive New Footage Of David Suchet As The World-Famous Detective Hercule Poirot
Over 40 Minutes Of After The Funeral TV Movie Footage
9 Different Puzzle Types - Different Each Time You Play!

The customer reviews on amazon are a bit mixed, it seems that though there are different puzzles, the murderer is always the same and it helps if you can't remember the tv show/book! Still £6.99 for a few hours entertainment can't be bad.

There are also three Agatha Christie PC Games: Evil Under the Sun, And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express the latter with a surprise ending plus David Suchet voicing Poirot. All three can be bought together as a bundle for £19.99 from 20th March. And Then There Were None is also availabe for Wii.

More about the new Poirot films

As reported last month, the first of the four new adaptations is of Mrs McGinty's Dead. The second film is Cat Among the Pigeons which is to be based on a script by Mark Gatiss, author of the Lucifer Box series and one of the stars of the League of Gentleman. From 24 newscentral:

Cat Among The Pigeons sees Poirot face one of his toughest cases yet – one which encompasses international espionage, a middle-Eastern revolution and a missing princess – as well as a huge line-up of characters who all seem to have secrets they could be willing to kill to protect.

When the middle-Eastern country of Ramat is over-run by anti-monarchist revolutionaries, the surviving heir to the throne is spirited away to safety in a small girls’ school, Meadowbank, which is run by the progressive Miss Bulstrode (Harriet Walter, Atonement).

However, when the bullying games mistress Miss Springer (Elizabeth Berrington, The Deal) is found stabbed through the chest with a javelin, it appears that Meadowbank may not be the haven it promised to be.

As Poirot assists Inspector Keslsey (Anton Lesser, Miss Potter) they begin to find that some of the staff may not be quite what they appear, a situation which is compounded when another teacher, Madame Blanche (Miranda Raison, Spooks), is found dead and Princess Shaista (Amara Karan, St Trinian’s) is kidnapped from the school.

With the princess’ life in peril, and the prized rubies of Ramat missing, it is up to Poirot to discover who is the Cat Among The Pigeons.

Cat Among The Pigeons also stars Natasha Little (This Life), Susan Woolridge (The Jewel in The Crown), Carol Macready (The Darling Buds of May), Claire Skinner (Outnumbered), Adam Croasdell (The Chase), Lois Edmett, Katie Leung (Harry Potter), Pippa Haywood (Green Wing) and Jo Woodcock (Torn, Marple).

Read the rest of the article here.

David Suchet to do more Poirot films

From Digital Spy:

David Suchet is to reprise his role as Agatha Christie's Belgian sleuth in a series of four new Poirot films for ITV1.

An adaptation of Mrs McGinty’s Dead begins filming this autumn. The drama is being directed by Afterlife's Ashley Pearce and has been adapted by Nick Dear (Eroica, Byron).

Corinne Hollingsworth, ITV’s head of continuing drama said: "Poirot is one of ITV's most popular titles, and we're absolutely thrilled to be able to commission four more exciting films, featuring, once again, the incomparable David Suchet as Hercule Poirot."

Zoë Wanamaker will return in the role of Ariadne Oliver, a character which first appeared on screen in Cards On The Table in 2006. Some believe Christie based the eccentric crime novelist, who appeared in six novels with Poirot, on herself.

Phil Clymer from Chorion, which owns Agatha Christie Ltd, said: "We are thrilled that ITV are continuing to show support and enthusiasm for the world's most famous detective. We share an ambition with David Suchet that the entire Poirot library will be filmed in the next few years, and that ITV will continue to be our partners in crime."

Suchet last appeared as Poirot in four films for ITV in 2006, the first of which, The Mystery of The Blue Train, attracted a ratings peak of 8 million viewers. The Poirot stories are co-produced by ITV Productions, Chorion's Agatha Christie Ltd, and Boston public television station WGBH.

David Suchet interview

You thought you'd seen the last of my posts on The Last Confession but no. Today's London Theatre Guide has a lengthy interview with David Suchet about The Last Confession and Poirot.

Thankfully, Suchet has never been confined to playing the same person, despite frequently returning to inhabit the little Belgian detective – a role he says, unequivocally, he loves. He puts this flexibility down to the fact that he was a theatre actor long before he got his big break in television, as Blott in Blott On The Landscape in 1985. Since then, he has happily been able to work in both. “That’s where both the business and the public have been so generous to me. They haven’t limited me,” he says.

It says everything about his skill as an actor, though, that people are able to forget Poirot when they see him in other things. As much as he loves the character, this is part of the reason that he would never bring Poirot to the stage. “I got a letter only two days ago from a member of the audience saying will I please, please, please, please, underlined, bring Poirot to the stage,” he says. “It’s not my intention, and I don’t want to bring him to the stage, because that would intrude on the wonderful variety that I have in the theatre and that would be bringing something that everybody knows. I would be doing it for very much the wrong reasons.”

Nevertheless, he is excited about going back to the role again on television – he has two new mysteries lined up to film after he finishes his run in The Last Confession. “To think that that’s the legacy I’ll leave behind actually fills me with a great deal of pride,” he says. “Because he’s a great character to play in a great literary setting and a wonderful writer and I believe it’s been good, clean, healthy television; it’s not reality TV, it’s not smutty. If I can leave the complete works behind me of that little character, that will be a first and it will please generations to come and that’s really what I’m here for.”

You can read the whole interview here and you can book tickets for the production at the Haymarket here.

The Last Confession is on its way to the West End

Indie London reports that:

FOLLOWING its run at this year’s Chichester Festival and a brief regional tour, the new thriller by Roger Crane, The Last Confession, will transfer to the West End’s Theatre Royal Haymarket for a limited 12-week season – from July 4, 2007 (previews from June 28).

You can read a review in This is London. I agree with most of it, though I disagree with the comment about the pedestrian nature of the internal enquiry scene. If you get chance, do go see the master (Suchet) in action...

The Last Confession

I've succumbed to temptation and a recommendation in the comments to my earlier post, I've booked tickets to see David Suchet in The Last Confession at Malvern Theatre on Wednesday.

If all goes well with the trains, I hope to get back to Birmingham to try the Organic Vegetarian restaurant which had a good review in the What's On a few weeks ago.

Radio 4 - Front Row

On yesterday's Front Row amongst other arts news, including a portion on the follow up to The Graduate, Colin Bateman talks about why he's just Bateman on the cover now.

and in today's Front Row (19.15-19.45):

"...Mark reports on Dali & Film, a major exhibition which focuses on the long relationship between the controversial surrealist and the cinema. Mark also discusses the events surrounding the sudden death of Pope John Paul I with Roger Crane, writer of a new play called The Last Confession, and David Suchet, who takes the role of Cardinal Benelli."

This play is currently touring, see my earlier post.

David Suchet in The Last Confession

David Suchet is taking time away from Poirot to play another sort of detective, this time on the stage. He will play Cardinal Benelli in 'The Last Confession' which is about the death of Pope John Paul I.

The Vatican 1978: a little-known Cardinal from Venice is elected to succeed Pope Paul VI. A compromise candidate, he takes the name Pope John Paul I, and quickly shows himself to be the liberal the reactionaries within the Catholic Church most feared.

Just thirty-three days later, he is dead. No official investigation is conducted, no autopsy is performed, and the Vatican’s press release about the cause of death is later found to be, in large part, false. And just the evening before his death, John Paul had warned three of his most influential but hostile Cardinals that they would be replaced.

His death marks the climax of fifteen troubled years of controversy and machination within the Church; schisms threaten its unity and the shadow of the Mafia hovers over its financial affairs. Only Cardinal Benelli has the power to challenge the dead Pope's enemies.

This incisive new thriller tracks the dramatic tensions, crises of faith and political manoeuvrings inside the Vatican surrounding the death of the man known as ‘the Smiling Pope’.

I can't find a complete tour listing but 'The Last Confession' will be on at the following: Chichester 27 April - 19 May, Malvern 11 - 16 June, Milton Keynes 18 - 23 June and Plymouth 29 May - 2 June.

Wikipedia has a page on conspiracy theories about Pope Jean Paul I.

Last minute Christmas present suggestion...

I spotted this on thriller.startpagina.nl a comprehensive page of links to the crime and mystery world, under their category of 'games'. Released today in the UK (but more easily available in the US I imagine) you can now help Poirot to solve 'The Murder on the Orient Express'.

From the manufacturers website: "Climb aboard the luxurious train and become part of the famous murder mystery as you play the video game adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Famed game designer Lee Sheldon and AWE Games have teamed up once again to bring mystery adventure fans the second game in the Agatha Christie series.

Staying true to the novel, players will step on to the lavish, richly appointed train that departs Istanbul hurtling toward Paris. The train is filled with passengers, one of whom is the high profile Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. A passenger recognizes him, asks for protection, but is turned down. The next day that individual is found dead.

Players take on the role of Antoinette Marceau, a new character, who works alongside Poirot to investigate the savage murder. With a train filled of suspects, Antoinette will need every tip that she can garner from Poirot in order to pinpoint the killer."

David Suchet is Poirot (thankfully) though it doesn't look much like him and there is a surprise ending....


Or there's 'And Then There Were None', released earlier in the year.

Manufacturer's description: "Based on the best selling mystery novel of the same name, And Then There Were None allows players to immerse themselves in the rich world of Agatha Christie.

10 people, strangers to each other are invited to a lavish estate on a remote island. Through a recording their mysterious host accuses each of his guests of murder and proceeds to exact justice. The tension mounts as, one by one, the number of people are reduced through the ingenious plotting of the unseen killer.

Prepare to play the 11th character where only your detective wits can save you now."

On the website you can see a list of characters, scenes and links to a trailer for both games.