Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express

Act One begins with a little girl being put to bed by her mother, father, and nanny. Just as she has fallen asleep, the shadowy figure of a man enters the room. The little girl screams as the man rips her from her bed. Her screams turn into a train whistle as the scene fades and Hercule Poirot takes the stage. Poirot, the famous detective, sets the scene of a tragic murder and the greatest case of his career, the murder on the Orient Express.

The audience is transported to a cafe in Istanbul at the Tokatlian Hotel. The Head Waiter escorts Poirot to a table in the crowded cafe, where Poirot overhears the conversation of a young couple. English beauty Mary Debenham and Scottish Colonel James Arbuthnot are anxiously bickering over being late for their train, the Orient Express. Mary seems keen to leave early and “get it over with”. Poirot’s interest is piqued, but he returns to his newspaper as the couple leave the cafe. As the two leave, Mrs. Hubbard, an outspoken, flamboyant