{"id":34064,"date":"2024-01-11T17:55:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T22:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=34064"},"modified":"2024-01-11T17:55:58","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T22:55:58","slug":"murder-on-the-orient-express-brings-classic-whodunnit-to-theatre-aurora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/murder-on-the-orient-express-brings-classic-whodunnit-to-theatre-aurora\/","title":{"rendered":"Murder on the Orient Express brings classic whodunnit to Theatre Aurora"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Orient Express is set to steam into Aurora this week with a murder on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no need to wait out in the cold at the GO Station to get in on the action; all you need to have in hand is a ticket for Theatre Aurora\u2019s latest production, Murder on the Orient Express, which is set to open this Thursday, January 11 at their Henderson Drive theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directed by Neill Kernohan, Murder on the Orient Express is Ken Ludwig\u2019s adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie mystery that has enthralled generations of readers as famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot \u201craces against time to solve a chilling murder before the killer strikes again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think everyone has in their imagination, especially those who read the books, their own vision of Poirot and it is kind of fun to see another person\u2019s vision, the different mannerisms that are captured,\u201d says Bill Baker, who plays Bouc, a friend of Poirot\u2019s who is helping solve the case. \u201cEveryone loves a good whodunit. The challenge here is how do you get a train in the theatre? I think a lot of people will say, \u2018How are they going to do this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow ARE we going to do it?\u201d exclaims Chris Cole, who will be bringing the mustachioed detective to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking jointly to The Auroran last week, Baker and Cole have a friendly rapport, which should serve their characters well \u2013 and this isn\u2019t surprising as the duo have been friends for nearly 20 years, first working together in dinner theatre in Whitby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have always been looking for something further they could do together and, when they found Theatre Aurora\u2019s call for auditions, they came out together on the same evening to see if there was a place for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNeill had everybody who was coming out to audition [do so] for two roles,\u201d explains Cole. \u201cThe two roles Bill and I auditioned for were about the only ones at our age that we could justifiably go for! When we had our call-backs, this is when Neill brought in everyone he was interested in looking at and matched them up together \u2013 and that\u2019s where Bill and I got to read together, which was great fun up on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was like putting on a comfortable old sweater \u2013 a little frayed on the edges,\u201d Bill adds with a laugh, noting that, personality-wise, the roles they landed represent something of a role reversal as Cole often performs with a comedic edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds Cole: \u201cThe great fit for us too was we were playing friends in the show. Poirot and Bouc are very good friends \u2013 I don\u2019t think they have seen each other [in a while] but they slip right back into that again and they are such completely and utterly different people. We\u2019re actually pals in it and we tend to joke around a little bit during the rehearsals which I think has been an eye-opener to some of the younger cast-members!\u201d
But such are the relationships that develop within community theatre, a creative outlet that both men agree is invaluable in any town or city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s vitally important,\u201d says Cole, citing Theatre Aurora\u2019s recent production of Anne of Green Gables: The Musical bringing together actors of multiple generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds Baker: \u201cCommunity theatre is the roots of theatre art \u2013 art itself \u2013 within the community. It\u2019s a place where people can come together and try, experiment, take risks and encourage youth to come out and pursue their passions, whether it be musicals, dramatic arts, or comedies. It\u2019s important for people to have a place to go for their entertainment and escape for a few hours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s just what the two actors hope the audiences will experience during Murder on the Orient Express\u2019 run as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would love to think it will end up showing them the magic of theatre and what can be done and, as Bill said before, maybe a suspension of your belief, but still somehow see that with the mixture of the music we\u2019re going to have and some voiceovers and lighting that you could put a show on that actually involves a train in a realistic kind of way, and just to be able to listen,\u201d says Cole. \u201cI think so often, everyone\u2019s attention span is about five seconds these days and to actually be able to listen. Christie is dialogue-heavy, but, somehow, she has remained, even in young people\u2019s eyes, as someone who can write a darn-good mystery. There is a great twist in Murder on the Orient Express, so as they\u2019re trying to figure out whodunnit, we\u2019re hoping they will be surprised when they do find out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see for yourself, head over to Theatre Aurora on select dates and times through January 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For ticket information, visit theatreaurora.com or call 905-727-3669.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Orient Express is set to steam into Aurora this week with a murder on board. There\u2019s no need to wait out in the cold at the GO Station to get in on the action; all you need to have in hand is a ticket for Theatre Aurora\u2019s latest production, Murder on the Orient Express, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/2024-01-11-06.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8Rq","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-01 07:19:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}