The touring show Poirot And More: A Retrospective looks back at the 52-year-long career of Sir David Suchet. Having previously toured Australia and New Zealand in early 2020, the show is now making a journey across the UK, retracing the career path of the much-acclaimed actor, who is best remembered for his television portrayal of Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.

David’s early career saw him spending a lot of time in the Midlands, both with repertory theatres and the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Joining the RSC in 1973, he remained a member for 13 years and today is an associate artist. He’s performed over 30 roles for the Company, including Bolingbroke in Richard II, Shylock in The Merchant Of Venice and Caliban in The Tempest - all of which earned him Olivier Award nominations for best actor. 

He left the RSC in 1986, after playing Iago to Ben Kingsley’s Othello. Post-Stratford, his career continued to flourish as he played a wide range of iconic characters, including Lady Bracknell in The Importance Of Being Earnest and Joe Keller in All My Sons. In 2020, he was knighted for services to drama and charity.

Despite having taken on a variety of eminent roles during a career spanning five decades, it is undoubtedly for his portrayal of Poirot that David is best known. He played the part for 24 years, becoming a household name in the process.

“Poirot is a programme that goes right through my life as an actor. This touring show will of course contain stories about how I got the part and how I approached and developed the role. We go into all of that in great detail. But we wanted to call the show Poirot And More because there are other things in there, too. I do a Shakespeare workshop, I do some speeches for the audience, and I tell them about my early career in the repertory theatre system and with the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as other aspects of my life. I go right back to the early days of my career and include what I hope will be entertaining and amusing stories that were enjoyed by audiences in Australia and New Zealand.”

The performance of the show at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre this month is one that David is particularly looking forward to. It was at the venue that he first met Sheila, the woman who would become his wife, when they were both working there in 1972.

“When I was asked which theatres I would like to visit as part of the tour, I desperately wanted to go to the Belgrade,” David reveals. “Without it, I would never have met my wife, so it’s an important venue in my life.”

There are other important venues, too - theatres which played a pivotal role in David’s development as an actor: “For many years I was travelling around the regions; that was my training ground, if you like. So there are lots of theatres I’m really looking forward to going to, in places such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Chichester and  Exeter. These are all venues that featured in my early career as an actor in repertory theatre.

“I believe in regional theatre. I do not believe in elitist theatre. Nearly every single one of the West End productions in which I’ve appeared during my 52-year career has included - on my insistence - a regional tour before we go to London. I love going back to the regions, where theatre is just as important, and I’m so excited to be going on this tour.

“For me, the tour is trying to welcome people back to the theatre after what has been such a terrible time, both for venues and audiences. It’s my way of saying thank you to all the towns and cities I’m visiting.”

was at the venue that he first met Sheila, the woman who would become his wife, when they were both working there in 1972.
“When I was asked which theatres I would like to visit as part of the tour, I desperately wanted to go to the Belgrade,” David reveals. “Without it, I would never have met my wife, so it’s an important venue in my life.”
There are other important venues, too - theatres which played a pivotal role in David’s development as an actor: “For many years I was travelling around the regions; that was my training ground, if you like. So there are lots of theatres I’m really looking forward to going to, in places such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Chichester and  Exeter. These are all venues that featured in my early career as an actor in repertory theatre.
“I believe in regional theatre. I do not believe in elitist theatre. Nearly every single one of the West End productions in which I’ve appeared during my 52-year career has included - on my insistence - a regional tour before we go to London. I love going back to the regions, where theatre is just as important, and I’m so excited to be going on this tour.

“For me, the tour is trying to welcome people back to the theatre after what has been such a terrible time, both for venues and audiences. It’s my way of saying thank you to all the towns and cities I’m visiting.”

Poirot And More: A Retrospective shows at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre on Sunday 17 October and then at The REP, Birmingham, on Sunday 5 December