David Suchet—Poirot and More: A Retrospective

Of course you know David Suchet from his role in Agatha Christie’s Poirot. With 70 episodes from 1989 to 2013 and much loved by a fan base who know every detail that Christie wrote, Agatha Christie’s Poirot has been so successful that it’s impossible to think of the character without picturing Suchet in the role. What you might not know is that prior to his television career, David Suchet was a successful actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company with multiple Olivier nominations. In this retrospective, which is part interview, part performance, part masterclass and celebration of theatre, Suchet talks about his life in acting and explains how he meticulously crafted the character of Poirot, bringing all his theatrical knowledge into the portrait.

With Jane Hutcheon variously interviewing and facilitating, Suchet begins by telling anecdotes from his early life and his long career, through his meeting his wife Sheila Ferris and on to Poirot and his current theatrical work.

Suchet performs the stories, drawing the audience in with delightful tales and well-timed punchlines. Starting with his first acting role at 8 years old, his early boarding school experience, his mother’s habit of embarrassing him in performances and amusing encounters with fans, Suchet engages by leaping to his feet and acting out the stories, from his grandmother demonstrating her cockney dance method in the kitchen, to Laurence Olivier’s idiosyncratic and potentially unhygienic method of perfecting a certain gait. Each of these tales is a neatly structured scene, all truly delightful. There is a genuine rapport between Suchet and Jane Hutcheon, and while it seems that most of the dialogue is scripted, it has a natural, relaxed flow.  

After interval the audience is treated to passages from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest and Macbeth. Suchet relishes the opportunity to demystify Shakespeare’s words, revealing the emotional strength wrapped into his cadences and rhythms, plosives and onomatopoeia. Suchet loves language, and that love is infectious. This section of the show is an introduction to some of the practical components that go towards creating an illusion of a character: voice, carriage, posture and expression. It was a fascinating peek behind the curtain.

Suchet is a man of tremendous warmth and good humour, who also happens to be extremely talented. Fans of Poirot and theatre alike will appreciate seeing just how and why so much theatre went into the creation of Poirot.

Cathy Bannister

Photographer: Ash Koek

TOUR DATES

Perth Concert Hall - 18th Jan at 2pm & 7.30pm

Canberra Theatre Centre - 20^th and 21st Jan at 7.30pm.

Sydney Opera House - 23rd Jan at 3pm & 8pm

Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall - 25th Jan at 3pm & 8pm and 13th Feb at 8pm 

Gold Coast, Hota - 29th Jan at 8pm

QPAC, Brisbane - 31st Jan at 8pm and 1st Feb at 2pm & 8pm

State Theatre, Sydney - 7th Feb at 8pm 

Newcastle Civic Theatre - 8th Feb at 8pm

Adelaide Festival Centre - 11th Feb at 8pm and Wed 12th Feb at 3pm & 8pm.