A Truly Magical Evening of Theatre

Poirot and More, A Retrospective, The Lowry, Salford.

Following a glorious night of watching the sublime David Suchet in his show Poirot and More, A Retrospective at The Lowry in Salford, I feel that I wanted to write a few words about how extraordinary this show is. David Suchet is an actor whom I have been lucky enough to meet in the past and found him to be a person whose enthusiasm and generosity of spirit is truly infectious. Several years ago, I had the pleasure of watching him in The Last Confession at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket and, as a result, I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to watch David again, this time as himself discussing his early life as an actor and his passion for his profession and his art.

From the start of the show, David did not disappoint and the enthusiasm and generous spirit that I remembered so well reappeared on the stage in front of me. Speaking with love and joy about his early life at school, his family, his time at Drama school and how he entered the profession, he had the audience entranced. David speaks in such a captivating way, that it is impossible not to become completely engrossed in his anecdotes and immersed in the world he creates before us. It was a privilege to be able to listen to David’s stories first hand and to witness the sheer love and dedication he feels for his work.

For me, a highlight of the show was David’s workshop in Shakespeare’s language. The opportunity to watch him perform a range of Shakespearean monologues and explain his rehearsal process was an honour and a unique opportunity to gain an insight into David’s methods and thought processes when creating a role. David morphed from one character to another, bringing a magic to the stage that I have not seen before. Through recreating numerous past stage roles, David continued to bring his magic to the stage, captivating the audience with his immense talent.

What came through for me was the absolute love David has for his art, and his total understanding of what he does. His joy at being able to share his skills and experiences shone through and made the audience feel as though they were being taken on this journey with him.