On Friday July 6, 2018 the SL Enquirer brought
you news of the Seanchai Library’s “Tea
Time on the Orient Express” running July 8 to August 12, 2018. On July
22, we had an opportunity to visit with the creative energy behind this
series. The series takes place in a skybox created specifically for the
Orient Express. The demise of Mr. Samuel Ratchett occurs in this closed
environment. The murder must be among us. To catch you up on the
story:
“After taking the Taurus Express from Aleppo in Syria to
Istanbul, private detective Hercule Poirot arrives at the Tokatlian Hotel.
There he receives a telegram prompting him to return to London. He instructs
the concierge to book a first-class compartment on the Simplon-Orient Express,
leaving that night. Although the train is fully booked, Poirot obtains a
second-class berth, but only with the intervention of a friend and fellow
Belgian who is also boarding the train, M. Bouc, a director of the railway,
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. Aboard the train, a malevolent,
elderly American, Samuel Ratchett, attempts to hire Poirot because he believes
his life is threatened, but Poirot refuses out of distaste for the man.
Imagine the surprise when the famed train
is trapped in the Yugoslavian mountains by an avalanche, and the unpleasant Mr.
Ratchett turns up dead - horribly murdered!”
Seanchai HYPERLINK
"http://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/p/te.html" Library website
Seanchai Library’s summer
series "TEA TIME on the Orient Express” is moving into the second part of
the six-week series. The series will continue this Sunday July 29, 2018
at 1:30 slt in the Yugoslavian mountains, trapped on all sides by an avalanche.
The next installment will complete the “Evidence” portion of the program
leading into the “Hercule Poirot Sits Back and Thinks” segments.
Those
familiar with Agatha
Christie’s novel Murder on the Orient Express [available free in PDF
format or audio] or the
movie will
find the performance at Seanchai Library delightfully entertaining.
Performed in voice, the series features;
“notable
SL voices such as Avajean Westland and David Abbot, in addition to Seanchai
regulars Corwyn Allen (as Poirot), Kayden Oconnell, and Aoife Lorefield; and
Library friends Boudicca Amat and Bryn Taleweaver. Audience and voice
talent will be mixed together during sessions, adding to the experience.”
The skybox is located above Holly Kai Park on the Blake Sea. Seanchai
Library staff and players highly recommend visiting the series site before,
during and after attending the sessions. The Istanbul station is no
longer in place, the skybox has been transformed to the “snowy mountains of
Yugoslavia”. Most of the story unfolds in this snowy location within the
trapped train. There is plenty of snow for all. For additional enjoyment
I recommend attending in clothing of the period, 1930s. This can add to your own
feeling of authenticity while listening and participating in this popular
event. Please see links below for information on clothing of the 1930s
for both men and women. If you have not participated in any of the Seanchai
Library programs yet, jump aboard this train destination: intrigue!
Watch the SL Enquirer for more information
on the upcoming events at Seanshai Library including the
Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" beginning
September 2nd 2018.
Part
Two - The Evidence:
Sunday,
July 29th: 1:30-2:30 pm slt - Part Two, Chapters 8-13
Part
Three - Hercule Poirot Sits Back and Thinks:
Sunday,
August 5th: 1:30-2:30 pm slt - Part Two, Ch 14 - Part Three, Ch 2
Sunday,
August 12th: 1:30-3:00 pm slt - Part Three, Chapters 3-9
Additional
Information:
SURL
for Seanchai Library
SURL
for the skybox:
Media:
Information on period clothing:
History of Agatha
Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express provided by Seanchai Library’s Caledonia Skytower:
"Murder on the Orient Express" features Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1934. In the United States, it was published on 28 February 1934, under the title of "Murder in the Calais Coach." In addition to Christie's tale, the famed train has been depicted in numerous books, films including Graham Greene's "Stamboul Train" (1932) and "From Russia with Love" by Ian Fleming (1957).
"Murder on the Orient Express" features Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1934. In the United States, it was published on 28 February 1934, under the title of "Murder in the Calais Coach." In addition to Christie's tale, the famed train has been depicted in numerous books, films including Graham Greene's "Stamboul Train" (1932) and "From Russia with Love" by Ian Fleming (1957).
In
The New York Times Book Review of 4 March 1934, Isaac Anderson wrote, "The
great Belgian detective's guesses are more than shrewd; they are positively
miraculous. Although both the murder plot and the solution verge upon the
impossible, Agatha Christie has contrived to make them appear quite convincing
. . . what more than that can a mystery addict desire?"