{"id":2816,"date":"2014-03-07T09:16:09","date_gmt":"2014-03-07T09:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/?p=2816"},"modified":"2014-03-07T09:16:09","modified_gmt":"2014-03-07T09:16:09","slug":"review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Agatha Christie&#039;s Black Coffee at New Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.2073-2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-2818\" alt=\"BlackCoffee.2073 (2)\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.2073-2-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-2818\" alt=\"BlackCoffee.2073 (2)\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.2073-2-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><br \/>\nThe Agatha Christie Theatre Company returned to Cardiff\u2019s New Theatre this week for the eleventh production of its nine-year existence for the performance of the unique \u2018Black Coffee\u2019.<br \/>\nBlack Coffee was Christie\u2019s first play, written in 1929, and significantly is her only play to contain her legendary Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, played magnificently by Robert Powell.<br \/>\nPowell, best known for the title role in Jesus of Nazareth, as Poirot, is called to the house of famous physicist Sir Claud Amory at Abbot\u2019s Cleve 25 miles from London. Sir Claud has discovered his valuable formula has been stolen but on Poirot\u2019s arrival, with his hapless but lovable sidekick Captain Hastings, Sir Claud is found dead, murdered by poison.<br \/>\nIn typical Agatha Christie fashion the murderer could feasibly be any one of six characters present at the time.<br \/>\nChristie wrote Black Coffee after being left disappointed by the portrayal of Poirot previous plays and motion-pictures adapted from her novels. Powell captures the very essence of Poirot as Christie conceived him and his methodical, intelligent approach is intertwined with humour as the Belgian gets to know the characters and starts to unravel the mystery.<br \/>\nThe A C Theatre Company\u2019s actors are flawless and company regulars Ben Nealon as Richard Amory, Sir Claud\u2019s son, and Gary Mavers, as the blackmailing Dr Carelli, deliver assured performances as realistic suspects.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.1360-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2819 alignright\" alt=\"BlackCoffee.1360 (1)\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.1360-1-300x200.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2819 alignright\" alt=\"BlackCoffee.1360 (1)\" src=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.1360-1-300x200.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><br \/>\nThe play lacks character depth in its early stages and could do with more extensive introductions of the suspects and their relationships with one another. This is not a criticism of the actors, nor the company, as they are slaves to Christie\u2019s original.<br \/>\nThe second and third act explore the psychological motives of each individual character and keep the viewer guessing as more and more details unfold. Christie places just as much emphasis on \u2018whydunnit\u2019 as the traditional \u2018whodunnit\u2019.<br \/>\nOlivia Mace is convincing as Lucia Amory, Richard\u2019s wife, tortured by a secret, manipulated by an aloof Italian doctor. However Robin McCallum steals the show with his tremendous portrayal of Captain Hastings and the play\u2019s best moments stem from his humorous relationship with Powell\u2019s Poirot.<br \/>\nBlack Coffee is impeccably acted as always by the A C Theatre Company, its classic \u2018whodunnit\u2019 set up intrigues as the plot oscillates to its dramatic conclusion. There are enough moments of humour and wit to break up the intense plot development and the play\u2019s finale is surprising and satisfying in equal measure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Agatha Christie Theatre Company returned to Cardiff\u2019s New Theatre this week for the eleventh production of its nine-year existence for the performance of the unique \u2018Black Coffee\u2019. Black Coffee was Christie\u2019s first play, written in 1929, and significantly is her only play to contain her legendary Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, played magnificently by Robert Powell. Powell, best known for the title role in Jesus of Nazareth, as Poirot, is called to the house of famous physicist Sir Claud Amory [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[2048,2049,1216,2050],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-longer-reads","tag-agatha-christie","tag-black-coffee","tag-new-theatre","tag-poirot"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Review: Agatha Christie&#039;s Black Coffee at New Theatre - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: Agatha Christie&#039;s Black Coffee at New Theatre - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Agatha Christie Theatre Company returned to Cardiff\u2019s New Theatre this week for the eleventh production of its nine-year existence for the performance of the unique \u2018Black Coffee\u2019. Black Coffee was Christie\u2019s first play, written in 1929, and significantly is her only play to contain her legendary Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, played magnificently by Robert Powell. Powell, best known for the title role in Jesus of Nazareth, as Poirot, is called to the house of famous physicist Sir Claud Amory [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-07T09:16:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.2073-2-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cathyduncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cathyduncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cathyduncan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/\",\"name\":\"Review: Agatha Christie&#039;s Black Coffee at New Theatre - The Cardiffian\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.2073-2-1024x683.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-07T09:16:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/41c76b1e66d8cf6e57cba8550c3772b1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.2073-2-1024x683.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/BlackCoffee.2073-2-1024x683.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/03\/07\/review-agatha-christies-black-coffee-at-new-theatre\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review: Agatha Christie&#039;s Black Coffee at New Theatre\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\",\"name\":\"The Cardiffian\",\"description\":\"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/41c76b1e66d8cf6e57cba8550c3772b1\",\"name\":\"cathyduncan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/d4d0895f6e1f7ccb86d04236a870a18b\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cd1b1b63598c25c15d3e0d390366ec2ba1c99865b1a23c34339be8c5c396a81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cd1b1b63598c25c15d3e0d390366ec2ba1c99865b1a23c34339be8c5c396a81?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cathyduncan\"},\"description\":\"Lecturer, Cardiff University News Journalism MA. 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