Subj : Court Theatre kicks off season with Agatha Christie whodunnit
To   : All
From : News Person
Date : Sat Mar 02 2024 01:18 pm

Staffing issues and financial woes which took centre stage at New Zealand's
largest theatre company for the past year have been set aside ahead of its
blockbuster season.


The Court Theatre in Christchurch is expected to welcome more than 10,000
people when it raises the curtain with Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient
Express.


The classic whodunnit will open in the garden city today.


"It's a bright and fresh new take on an old story," actor James Kupa, who
plays great Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, said.


The show closes out the chapter on the theatre's own drama, which saw
accusations of a toxic bullying culture and the departure of staff.


The Court's artistic director Alison Walls told 1News it was "a tough time
and I feel really proud of how the entire team came together".


"It has been a continual move forward from that. We do love what we do," she
said.


The theatre's public drama was compounded by the financial strain - a
$700,000 grant was needed to keep the house lights on.


Despite the challenges, Orient Express show director Dan Bain said the art
form has proved resilient.


"Theatre is a form that has been dying for 5000 years and it still hasn't
died," Bain said.


"It's got another few years in it yet."


After years of delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 54-year-old theatre
will be preparing for its second act when it moves to a new home - a $56
million purpose-built site in the city centre - early next year.


Kupa said they're "very excited to see the shed out in spectacular fashion
and that's the beginning of that".

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