Murder on the Nile is a great Agatha Christie mystery and even though you’ve seen it many times on TV and know the story, it is a great opportunity to see it live on stage. The free programme was useful, though a bit of a concern that it needs to include the warning “There are some very loud noises in this show. And murder!” Maybe the clue is in the title?
Anyway, the actors played their individual parts well, especially a very relaxed ‘Mr Smith’ the Communist, and there were some laughs with the aunt Miss ffoliot-faulkes (with a small f), plus a brief appearance by the ship’s captain who did not appear to be a regular actor!
My husband did nod off for a few minutes during the first half as it was a bit slow to set the scene. Although the action was supposed to take place on an exotic Nile cruise, the set was very disappointing with just a backdrop to suggest windows and lighting that changed to depict the time of day. This is a Community Company and as such regularly produces a good range of plays at Aberystwyth Arts Centre. I know that you usually have to pay to use official scripts of well-known plays, so this leaves little room for manoeuvre. However, most disappointing was the ending with Jacqueline handing over the gun and basically saying “ok, it’s a fair cop”. It doesn’t have quite the same impact as the film version with Mia Farrow shooting her lover then herself rather than go to the gallows!
The Arts Centre is a great venue with several different theatres and cinema, a café restaurant downstairs and a bar upstairs that serves half-price drinks until 7pm in the week.
