Peter Polycarpou Will Lead Agatha Christie's THE HOLLOW UK and Ireland Tour

Two-time Olivier Award nominee Peter Polycarpou will play Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in the UK & Ireland tour of The Hollow. Peter Polycarpou's recent stage credits include Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Hello, Dolly!, while his screen work includes House of the Dragon, Birds of a Feather, The Brutalist and Evita. He received Olivier nominations for his performances in Oslo and The Band's Visit.

Following sell-out tours of And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, producers Fiery Angel and director Lucy Bailey (director of the hit London show Witness for the Prosecution) partner once again to bring one of Agatha Christie's psychologically complex mysteries to the stage this autumn.

Agatha Christie's masterpiece The Hollow is coming to theatres in a new version by Tamsin Oglesby (Future Conditional, Old Vic Theatre and Really Old, Like Forty Five, National Theatre). The production will embark on a major UK and Ireland tour, playing at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury from 9 October 2026 before touring nationwide into 2027.

The Hollow is produced by Fiery Angel in association with Agatha Christie Limited and the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. The production is directed by Lucy Bailey, with set and costume design by Joanna Parker, lighting design by Chris Davey, sound design and composition by Nick Powell and casting by Ginny Schiller.

Detective Hercule Poirot expected a quiet break in the country; instead he's drawn into one of the most unsettling cases of his career. At The Hollow, an elegant country estate, a glamorous circle of guests gather together one summer evening. But beneath the sunlit charm, something darker coils. Old passions refuse to die. New rivalries ignite. Dangerous infatuations take hold. Then — a shot rings out. A body is discovered. A smoking revolver in an unsteady hand. The scene appears almost staged; a shockingly straightforward crime…. It is anything but.

James Prichard of Agatha Christie Limited said, “We are thrilled to be working once again with Lucy Bailey and Fiery Angel on this bold new production of The Hollow. A sharply observed and unsettling drama, it showcases a fascinatingly different facet of my great grandmother's storytelling, and we are excited for audiences across the UK and Ireland to experience it anew.”

Having recently directed four of Christie's classic thrillers for the stage, this will be Lucy Bailey's fifth.

She said, “The Hollow is one of Agatha Christie's most powerful and arresting plays. At first glance it appears to be a classic country-house mystery, but it's something far richer: a family ruthlessly clinging to the past, failed relationships and illicit love. Christie gathers a circle of brilliantly drawn characters to an English country estate and lets long-buried family tensions simmer until a sudden act of violence shatters the idyll. When the unthinkable happens, it falls to the incomparable Hercule Poirot to unravel the truth. Equally comic and tragic, it's a play about people trapped between the lives they have and the lives they longed for. That tension makes The Hollow feel startlingly contemporary.”

Tour Dates

9–17 October – Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
www.marlowetheatre.com

20–24 October – Hall for Cornwall, Truro
www.hallforcornwall.co.uk

27–31 October – Richmond Theatre
www.atgtickets.com/Richmond

3–7 November – Grand Opera House, Belfast
www.goh.co.uk

10–14 November – Newcastle Theatre Royal
www.theatreroyal.co.uk

17–21 November – New Theatre Cardiff
www.trafalgartickets.com/new-theatre-cardiff

24–28 November – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk

12–16 January – The Alexandra, Birmingham
https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham

19–23 January – Milton Keynes Theatre
https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre

26–30 January – Theatre Royal, Nottingham
https://trch.co.uk

2–6 February – Theatre Royal, Brighton
https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-brighton

9–13 February – Edinburgh Festival Theatre
https://www.capitaltheatres.com/our-venues/festival-theatre

23–27 February – His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen
https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/whats-on

2–6 March – Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
https://everymantheatre.org.uk

16–20 March – Malvern Theatres
https://malvern-theatres.co.uk

23–27 March – Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/visit/lyceum

30 March–3 April – Theatre Royal, Bath
https://www.theatreroyal.org.uk

13–17 April – Theatre Royal, Plymouth
https://theatreroyal.com

20–24 April – The Lowry, Salford
https://thelowry.com

27 April–1 May – Leeds Playhouse (On sale 31 July)
https://leedsplayhouse.org.uk

4–8 May – Norwich Theatre Royal
https://norwichtheatre.org

11–15 May – Gaiety Theatre, Dublin (On sale 17 July)
https://www.gaietytheatre.ie

18–22 May – Grand Opera House, York
https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/grand-opera-house-york

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