Little Lark of London

“This is storytelling . . . This is unique . . . This is magic”

David Suchet – Poirot and More: a Retrospective, a show created by Suchet and Liza McLean (with additional credit given to Suchet’s wife, Sheila Ferris), gives audiences a “rare insight into the man who has not only played the role of Hercule Poirot, one of Agatha Christie’s most beloved characters, on our television screens for a quarter of a century, but whose extraordinary career spans 50 years of screen, radio, books, photography, television and his first love, the stage,” as described by McLean herself. 

Suchet is in conversation with Geoffrey Wansell, a true crime author who wrote Poirot and Me with Suchet in 2013 and therefore has extensive experience in speaking with Suchet on, as the title of the show suggests, “Poirot and more.” We are given some context into how Wansell and Suchet first became friends, which actually occurred when Suchet was first cast as Poirot! 

We begin by learning about Suchet’s childhood, his first performance being as an oyster in Alice Through the Looking Glass at the age of eight while at a boarding school in Kent. Suchet uses this opportunity to pay tribute to teachers, particularly his own English Literature teacher who encouraged his love for reading and set him on the path he ended up on. We are then taken into his time at LAMDA, including a hilarious bit about a movement class and some insight into his relationship with his mentor, Jeremy Spenser, and his grandmother, Elsie Jezzard, a music hall performer. 

Wansell asks a range of leading questions in order to get to different sections of the show, making it feel more like a conversation between friends than a simple Q&A being done in front of an audience. Throughout the show, photos appear on a screen behind the two men in order to support the stories being told, a lovely touch that really adds to the conversation in a visual way. 

After a brief interval, Act Two begins with one of  Antonio Salieri’s monologues from Amadeus, this one focused on Mozart’s Adagio from the Serenade for Thirteen Wind Instruments. Suchet then talks with Wansell about what it was like to perform as Salieri at the funeral of Sir Peter Hall at Westminster Abbey, the man who directed Peter Schaffer’s Amadeus in 1979 at the National Theatre. We learn what it was like to perform Amadeus on Broadway in New York when Suchet realised that people were coming to see him not as Suchet, not as Salieri, but as Poirot, declaring “Poirot was in town.”

After a discussion with Wansell on his time with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Wansell takes his leave, giving Suchet the opportunity to delve deeper into the language and craft of Shakespeare. Suchet teaches the audience about what he considers to be the “Highway Code” of Shakespeare, important lessons that ensure an actor’s survival when performing the works of the Bard. We learn about the rhythmic heartbeat of iambic pentameter and a range of other concepts including antithesis, alliteration and onomatopoeia. The lesson ends with Suchet performing a speech as the Fairy King, Oberon, explicitly illustrating the different “highway codes” he has been discussing. 

Finally, the show ends with what many in the audience have been waiting for – how exactly did Suchet become the iconic Hercule Poirot? Well, Suchet is here to tell all and has even brought one of Poirot’s moustaches for the audience to see themselves! One of the most fascinating aspects of this section and, quite possibly, one of the most fascinating moments in the show, is when Suchet discusses how he found the voice of Poirot, combining the French and Flemish accents while raising his voice up into his brain, up where the “little grey cells” of Poirot reside. We end with, spoiler alert, the death of Poirot, and what it was like for Poirot to say goodbye to the character that had been a part of his life for a quarter of a century. 

Ultimately, David Suchet – Poirot and More: a Retrospective is a fascinating look into the life of an iconic actor, showing audiences how different characters are brought to life through Suchet’s own experiences. Both those familiar and unfamiliar with his works will find enjoyment in the range of different learning opportunities provided through this show. 

David Suchet – Poirot and More: a Retrospective is currently being streamed on Original Online. More information can be found here.