Theatre Preview - A POIROT DOUBLE-BILL by Agatha Christie - PEOPLE'S THEATRE, NEWCASTLE

 Join the People’s Theatre this week for not one but two thrilling mysteries for Hercule Poirot to solve!

In The Wasp’s Nest, the Belgian detective comes between a bitter love triangle in the hopes of preventing a murder before it can take place.

Yellow Iris brings the moustachioed investigator to the hotel Jardin des Cygnes when a distressed phone call from a mystery woman throws up questions about a suspicious death years earlier.

Ian Willis - Poirot photo Paul Hood

Ian Willis (pictured) stars as Hercule Poirot across both of the stories, and the two thrillers mark milestones for the character. The Wasp’s Nest was the first story Christie wrote to be adapted as a TV play and aired on the BBC in June 1937, while Yellow Iris marked Poirot's debut appearance on radio!

Poirot first appeared in Christie’s novel ‘A Mysterious Affair at Styles’ published in 1920. Over the next 55 years he starred in 33 novels, 59 short stories and 1 original full-length play by Agatha Christie, and the character’s ‘death’ in 1975 prompted an obituary to appear on the front page of the New York Times!

This is an opportunity to see two early cases tackled by the beloved sleuth, and they’re as intriguing and full of twists as we’d expect from Agatha Christie, aka the Queen of Crime!  

Director Ben Watkins comments: “As Agatha Christie herself said, ‘Very few of us are what we seem’. With these two shorter stories of hers, she really brings that to the forefront. This is a fantastic opportunity for audiences to see a side of Hercule Poirot they may not have seen before. There is a high level of excitement bubbling away amongst the team as we bring these two mysteries to life and audiences can expect a surprise or two (or three!) along the way!”

The People’s has a long tradition of bringing exciting thrillers and head-scratching whodunnits to their stage in January, and it’s the perfect way to beat the winter blues!

A POIROT DOUBLE BILL opens on Tuesday 16 January on the Main Stage. Tickets are available from the People’s Theatre Box Office on 0191 265 5020 (option 2) and online at www.peoplestheatre.co.uk