“Poirot” and “Marple” updates: January 2013

Hi there folks! Happy 2013!

As we wait, ever so impatiently, for updates on the airing of the new series of Agatha Christie’s Marple and Agatha Christie’s Poirot, here is some of the latest information for you wonderful fans the world over:

 

Filming is underway on the final series of Poirot. Star David Suchet has wrapped on Elephants Can Remember and Curtain, the former featuring the return of Zoë Wanamaker as Mrs. Oliver and a cast including Iain Glen and Greta Scacchi (who previously played Tuppence Beresford in an instalment of Marple). The latter, bringing recurring cast David Yelland as George and Hugh Fraser as Hastings, also features Helen Baxendale, Shaun Dingwall, and Anne Reid.

Suchet has suggested that the episodes won’t air until much, much later in the year – and possibly some running over to 2014. Filming will continue over the next few months on Dead Man’s Folly, The Labours of Hercules, and The Big Four, which – Suchet has confirmed – will feature the return of Philip Jackson as Japp and Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon. Reports suggest that “The Lemesurier Inheritance”, the only short story not filmed during the early years of the series, will be incorporated into the plot of Hercules. Given that short story collection is being transformed into one 2-hour film, some elements will obviously be missing, but it’s nice to know that Suchet will have filmed the entire canon – in spirit at least! (Last year, he participated in a reading of the original Poirot play, Black Coffee.)

Meanwhile, filming has wrapped on two of the three Marple stories. Greenshaw’s Folly – an amalgamation of two short stories – will feature a stellar cast including Julia Sawalha and Fiona Shaw. A Caribbean Mystery – the last of the Marple novels to be adapted in this series – stars Anthony Sher, Oliver Ford Davies, and Hermione Norris.

Marple star Julia McKenzie will return to the role in March, filming Endless Night, an adaptation of a non-Marple novel. Since this is the end of McKenzie’s original contract, any future series would need to be renegotiated. However, given that Poirot is about to end, and that the series has now completed all the Marple novels, it’s reasonable to speculate that the series might come to a graceful end at this point too.

So, we have a few months to go until we get to watch any of these gems. All I can recommend is — head back and watch the older ones! See my list of her books, and list of her adaptations, and get caught up on anything you haven’t seen. Go on, don’t just stand there – read the Dame!

 

Filming begins on new series of “Marple” and “Poirot”

October is a great month for Agatha Christie fans, with filming underway for the sixth series of ITV’s Marple.

Julia McKenzie has journeyed to South Africa with a stellar cast including Hermione Norris, Sir Antony Sher, Oliver Ford Davies, and Robert Webb, to film A Caribbean Mystery. Later this year, McKenzie will join what I’m sure will be similarly wonderful actors for new adaptations of previously-filmed non-Marple novels Endless Night (my thoughts on the 1972 film here) and The Seven Dials Mystery (my review of that 1981 film here). We shouldn’t expect to see these films until early 2013, but anticipation is building, particularly as the series will now have completed all the novels in the Miss Marple canon.

Meanwhile, David Suchet is gearing up for the filming of the final five Poirot films. For scheduling reasons, they’ll be starting later this month with the film that will end the series - Curtain – and continuing from there. Hugh Fraser will be back on set as Captain Arthur Hastings, but no word yet on other casting details, or whether the remainder of the series’ original cast will be invited to make return appearances.

Since production seems to have stalled on the rumoured film of Crooked House (one of the few great Christie novels never to be adapted for the screen), at least 2013 will provide a wealth of stories on the small screen.

(Thanks to both the Agatha Christie website, and a lovely commenter on this blog – Tom – for this information!)

 

David Suchet, meet Joan Hickson

Thanks to the lovely Robert Ross (https://twitter.com/RobertWRossEsq), I stumbled across this picture from 1990, the year of Dame Agatha’s centenary. To celebrate, Joan Hickson and David Suchet attended celebrations in Torquay, dressed as Miss Jane Marple and Monsieur Hercule Poirot, respectively.

Dame Christie was against the characters ever meeting in her narrative (after all, even if they had reason to meet, there’s very little chance they would like each other!). However, they do have various connections, proving they exist in the same world – as this lovely website points out.

Still, we can all savour the one time when our Poirot and Marple did get to know each other. (Excepting the encounter between Tony Randall and Margaret Rutherford in The Alphabet Murders, but let’s not discuss that…)

 

David Suchet performs “Black Coffee”

Before he rejoins the cast and crew for the final five episodes of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, star David Suchet took on the role of Hercule Poirot in a live performance of Christie’s play, Black Coffee, for the Agatha Christie Theatre Company. You can read a review of the performance here.

Although Christie adapted several Poirot novels into plays, she often excised the character entirely – for instance, in The Hollow – and Black Coffee is the only ‘canonical’ Poirot story to have been first and only theatre. (Well, under Christie’s pen at least: Charles Osborne has since novelised it.)

What a treat it must have been for the cast, audience, and Mr. Suchet himself – an expert now, after 25 years of playing the Belgian – particularly since Black Coffee is one of only two official Poirot stories that will not be part of the series when complete. (One short story, the Sherlock Holmes-inspired The Lemesurier Inheritance, wasn’t able to fit into the schedule either.) A shame we couldn’t all be there to watch!

(The final series of Agatha Christie’s Poirot begins filming in October.)

 

Hugh Fraser to return for final series of “Agatha Christie’s Poirot”

Just a brief update, fellow Christie fans:

In response to a question from a fan, Poirot star David Suchet revealed on Twitter that Arthur Hastings, as played by original cast member Hugh Fraser will appear in two of the five final instalments of the long-running TV series. Assumedly, these will be The Big Four and Curtain, in which the character plays a major role.

Suchet did not respond to other elements of question – namely whether Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) or Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) would return. The characters do appear in The Labours of Hercules, although that collection of twelve short stores will have to be cut down to fit a two-hour running time, so it would be reasonable if they weren’t included. Of course, for long time fans, it would be a treat to see those beloved actors one last time!

No word yet on whether recurring stars Zoe Wanamaker (Ariadne Oliver, who appears in Elephants Can Remember and Dead Man’s Folly) or David Yelland (Poirot’s valet George, who appears numerous times including in the denouement of Curtain) will return, although I would say it’s almost a sure thing in those cases.

I’ll keep you updated as more word gets out about the yet-to-be filmed Poirot and Marple films! In the meantime, have a browse around and enjoy some reviews of older Poirot adaptations or my capsule reviews of Christie’s books.

 

Let the trivial Poirot updates begin…

 Well, if my inbox is anything to go by, Poirot has joined that niche market of TV shows which includes Doctor Who, Game of Thrones and Community: that wonderful world where every trivial update is searched for daily, and fans ambush the stars on Twitter to make sure they’re all back for the final episodes. Those people are certainly nutty, impatient, and really need to get out more. Luckily, though, I’m one of them, so here we go!

 

Complete Works of Agatha Christie List (Jan 2012)

The long wait has begun,

View this document on Scribd

">with the new Poirot and Marple episodes set to begin filming in the next few months.

Because I’m a nerd, I thought I’d put together a list of Agatha Christie’s Complete Works (or quite close to it!). This list includes:

• All works by Dame Christie, sorted by series and date
• Comprehensive listings of the 34 characters who recur throughout the “Christieverse” (in addition to Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy, and Tuppence).
• Comprehensive listings of all known English-language adaptations of Christie’s works for TV, film, and radio.