ENGLISH actor David Suchet has had a remarkable 50-year career, starring as Agatha Christie's eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in 74 television films produced over 45 years and often appearing live in stage productions at night after the Poirot works were filmed during the day.
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As well as his stage and film work he has been a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company management team for decades and has appeared in many of Shakespeare's works, with his roles including, among others, Iago in Othello, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, and Caliban in The Tempest.
He has won raves and awards for many of his performances, including playing the officious Lady Bracknell in a London production of The Importance of Being Earnest, a role that is often taken by renowned male actors.
David Suchet isin Australia, presenting a talk show called David Suchet - Poirot and More: A Retrospective, that will be staged in eight cities, including Newcastle.
It can be seen at the Civic Theatre, on Saturday, February 8, at 8pm.
Suchet will be accompanied on stage by the recently retired ABC journalist and interviewer Jane Hutcheon, who will discuss with him his life and career. Hutcheon interviewed Suchet in 2012 for her weekly program One Plus One and has looked forward to chatting with him again. There will be two one-hour conversations, separated by a 20-minute interval.
Ticket prices range from $49.95 for juniors to $229.90, with the latter listed as "meet and greet" because the ticketholders will be able to chat with Suchet.
Ring 4929 1977 for bookings.
Suchet has appeared in shows in Australia on several occasions, most recently in The Last Confession in 2014, which he toured to major cities around the world.
That play, by American writer Roger Crane, set in the late 1970s, during the reign of Pope John Paul I, had him as Giovanni Benelli, an influential cardinal who was adept at getting his way inside the Vatican, with his comments giving an insight into the internal politics of one of the world's most powerful institutions.
He is currently in a fantasy drama series, His Dark Materials, screening on Foxtel.
Suchet has noted in previous conversations that his brother warned him, when he first played Poirot, that it could end his acting career. But he's become used to ups and downs in being an actor.
When he was a student at a boarding school, he acted in plays because he thought it was fun. He became so interested in acting that he joined a training school, the National Youth Theatre, and after graduating applied to have further training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and was accepted. He trekked around to various theatre venues after doing that course.
Suchet has said his brother warned him, when he first played Poirot, that it could end his acting career.
POPULAR TWO
ONE Newcastle show that quickly sold out after it was advertised is Lizotte's Lazy Lunch with Marina Prior and David Hobson, that will be held at the Lambton venue on Sunday, February 9.
The swift sale isn't surprising, because the show the pair of renowned musical theatre and opera stars are presenting, The Two of Us, has been a hit in the three years it has toured.
Prior and Hobson have announced that this will be their final tour after working together for 35 years.
The show at Lambton replaces one that had been booked into Lizotte's in July, 2019, but, along with several other performances, had to be cancelled because Hobson unexpectedly came down with a flu that prevented him from performing for several weeks.
The production had previously played at various Hunter venues since 2017, including shows at Wests New Lambton in 2017 and 2018.
The pair have referred to the show as Up Close and Personal, as it gives audience members the chance to see and hear them performing songs from their many hit musicals and operas, among them The Phantom of the Opera, Guys and Dolls, and Cats, and their best-selling recordings.
The pair, who are accompanied by pianist David Cameron, also deliver amusing career stories.
NTC EVENTS
NEWCASTLE Theatre Company has announced two fund-raising events that should be a lot of fun.
Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing, an afternoon of songs, poetry and audience sing-alongs with talented local performers, will be presented at NTC's theatre in DeVitre Street, Lambton, on Sunday, January 19, at 2pm.
The other event is a trivia night that will be held at Lambton Bowls Club on Saturday, February 1, at 7.30pm.
The first half of Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing will have the audience watching and listening to the performers. After an interval, that will have refreshments including tea, coffee and slices (included in the ticket price), there will be a community singalong.
Tickets are $20 a person, and can be booked online (newcastletheatrecompany.com.au), at the theatre or by ringing the venue: 4952 4958.
The NTC trivia night will have games and raffles, as well as trivia, with a variety of prizes. There will be a performance of songs from NTC's upcoming musical show, A Comedy of Tenors.
Entry to the trivia night is $10 a person, with 10 people seated at each table.
Tables can be reserved by contacting the NTC office by phone or email.
While food can be bought from the club, trivia participants are welcome to bring snacks to share with others at a table.
