| What: Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Stage adaption: Mark Shanahan When: July 16 to August 16, 2026 Where: Theatre On The Bay, Cape Town And then Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre in Johannesburg from August 21 to September 27, 2026 Bookings: Webtickets Director: Alan Swerdlow Cast: Alan Committie (Hercule Poirot), Graham Hopkins (Dr James Sheppard), Dianne Simpson (Caroline Sheppard), Russel Savadier (Inspector Raglan), Louise Saint Claire (Gertrude Ackroyd), Michael Richard (Major Hector Blunt), Sharon Spiegel Wagner (Helen Russel), Mike Huff (Roger Ackroyd), Brett Krüger (Parker), Sarah Wolhuter (Ursula Bourne), Mary-Anne Wright (Flora Ackroyd) and Dean Goldblum (Ralph Paton) . Production design (set and lighting): Denis Hutchinson Costume design: Margo Snoyman Sound recordings: Adam Howard |
Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is on stage, South Africa 2026, directed by Alan Swerdlow. I loved this invigorating production, using Mark Shanahan’s 2023 adaption of Christie’s novel. The dream cast of 12 is led by veteran thesps – Alan Committie, Graham Hopkins, Louise Saint Claire, Michael Richard, Dianne Simpson, Russel Savadier, Mike Huff, and Sharon Spiegel Wagner. Yes on one stage. Insane. It is signature Agatha Christie locked room mystery and huge fun – with intrigue and suspense. I would call it Agatha Christie Light. Light – but deep. Hugely entertaining, sheer escapism. Please do not miss.
By light, I mean that it has a light touch due to the spirited 2023 adaption by Mark Shanahan. He is an actor and a director and the adaption is fast paced and cuts through the schmaltz and verbosity of the 1928 script, by Michael Morton, titled Alibi.
The narrative opens with the doctor – a slightly buzzed Dr Sheppard – who has returned from being death side of a wealthy widow, Mrs. Ferrars who has died of an apparent suicide. She was engaged (secretly-ish) to Roger Ackroyd, an extremely wealthy man who has a huge estate, Fernly Park. Why would she suicide, when she had the love of her life, in the wings? The plot and intrigue thickens as the “why” is revealed.
Shortly after the widow expires, Roger is murdered. The plot thickens further as Christie stirs it all up. The doc gets into detective mode, trying to piece it together, with his sister, Caroline kibitzing over his shoulder, sharing the village gossip. Their next door neighbour, Detective Hercule Poirot bustles in, offering zucchinis. He has retired to the village on the recommendation of Roger. Numerous freeloaders have been hanging around Roger’s mansion, hoping to get some of his money – by begging, borrowing or stealing. Major Hector Blunt is a game hunter (the big kind) and the houseguest who never leaves. There is Roger’s step son – Ralph Paton; his sister in law – Gertrude Ackroyd who was married to his dead brother; Gertrude’s daughter – Flora. There is Roger’s assistant/secretary – Helen. As it is Agatha Christie and this the whodunit genre, there is a butler (Parker) and a maid (Ursula). There are romantic and love trysts which riff off their back stories – which of course feed into motive and opportunity.
I am not going to plot spoil who the murderer is but even if you find out because someone blurts it out, or if you can’t resist Google, I don’t think that it matters for this production. The magic of this adaption, which is activated by Swerdlow and the cast, is its power as a captivating and immersive psychological thriller: What has led them to this situation? Who are these people? What is driving them?
There is a triad of sleuths investigating the whodunit: Graham Hopkins plays the doctor and he is dominant sleuth in the first half. Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot (Alan Committie) leads in the second half. Russell Savadier is the nudnick village detective, Inspector Raglan. Caroline – the sister of the doc – is a sidekick sleuth – drawing on her wide range of gossip as “evidence”. Alan Swerdlow told me that the character of Caroline was Dame Agatha’s inspiration to create Miss Marple. Interesting.
The sleuths interrogate the posse of women. The brilliant Louise Saint Claire plays a delicious Gertrude Ackroyd. Great to see her on stage again and her husband Michael Richard – keep reading. Check out her glitzy wardrobe – love the gold shawl – compared to Caroline’s drab spinster gear of cardigan twinsets. (Spinster – does that word even exist anymore?) Costume design by Margo Snoyman. Caroline is played with submissive glee by the fabulous Dianne Simpson. [It would great to see her as Miss Marple]. Sharon Spiegel Wagner plays the glam and feisty Helen – the secretary of Roger. The sweet young Flora is charmingly portrayed by Mary-Anne Wright. Terrific comic timing by LAMTA graduate Sarah Wolhuter as the petulant maid Ursula.
And the trio of men suspects are grilled. The fabulous Michael Richard plays Blunt the houseguest who never leaves but who is so charming that you forgive him. The dashing Deon Goldblum plays Roger’s step son – Ralph. The butler – the crabby, sneering Parker is a scream – played by Brett Krüger.
Hovering over them – metaphorically is the dead woman – Mrs Ferrars- the widow – the love of poor Roger. Dame Agatha also emanates – watch until the end. A stunning reveal with the set design by Denis Hutchinson. His English country aesthetic is not too chintzy to overpower the characters and is softened and blurred by his lighting. Clever use of lighting to ring in changes of location and time, by spotlighting characters. By the way, sound is a character. Sound recordings are by Adam Howard.
And now we get to Committie, Hopkins and Savadier who brilliant. Committie is hilarious as Poirot who is also wise and a philosopher, with his eye on Caroline. The multi-award winning Committie laces stand-up and clowning with the poignancy of the sagacious detective. Multi award winning Hopkins as the doc hovers as the narrator. He seems to always be there in the frame or on the fringes. Watch, the way he taps his fingers and twitches as the others are talking. Russel Savadier as Inspector Raglan conjures delicious layers of the klutz and the interaction of Poirot and Raglan is a scream.
I cracked up over the three-way scene between the doc, Poirot and Gertrude. While the Doc is interrogating Gertrude, he is prompted by Poirot who is hovering behind her and is gesticulating to the doc as to what he should ask her – through mime and signing. It is masterclass of theatrical whodunit psychological comedy which Alan Swerdlow directs like a conductor, leading an orchestra. Louise Saint Claire, Alan Committie and Graham Hopkins –create a hysterical scene – which is also one of intrigue. Russel Savadier the nudnick detective interacting with Alan Committie’s mercurial Poirot – this is the stuff that makes theatre so thrilling. Louise Saint Claire owns the stage as the diva matriarch of the cohort – fabulous.
I don’t recall being so enthralled by an Agatha Christie. It stays in period (1926) and yet it pings off contemporary ways of communicating, via the gossip and rumour mill, on WhatsApp and social media, marshalled by the protagonist Catherine (Dianne Simpson). Think about how news and fake news spreads and how it is manipulated; how people want what is not theirs, how they want more and will lie and deceive and spread rumours to manipulate others. Yes the Dame frequently uses the rumour/gossip trope as a triggering stratagem/device in her novels and plays – as narrative triggers, to manufacture red-herrings; as sleight of hand. But, the use of rumour in Roger Ackroyd is teased out so brilliantly by Committie as Poirot as he dances (figuratively) around the bunch of peeps, ferreting out the truth. It plays out cliff-hanger in the reveal in the locked room murder mystery in “the closed circle of suspects” [See show programme note for more on that]. Through Swerdlow’s articulate direction, it transcends the whodunit genre into a play about humans who ultimately want to love and be loved. There are some happy outcomes to make one leave the theatre with a smile.
This production is dedicated to the memory of the wonderful actor, the late Peter Terry who was in Agatha Christie plays, produced by Pieter Toerien Productions, directed by Swerdlow, with some of the same cast as Roger Ackroyd: Black Coffee (2025) and Witness for the Prosecution (2024). He was cast in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and was excited to be part of another Agatha Christie caper. Terry was a mensch and fine actor. I think that his spirit is dangling over this fine production.
✳ Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, adapted by Mark Shanahan, Pieter Toerien Productions, South Africa 2026. Pics by Claude Barnardo. Supplied.
