A sumptuous, intelligent production at ZACH Theatre proves the classic endures
I’ve seen a lot of theatre in Austin over the years—both as a longtime audience member and as part of the Austin Theatre Critics Circle—and I don’t say this lightly: Murder on the Orient Express at ZACH Theatre is one of the most polished, assured productions to hit a local stage in a long while. From the moment the lights come up, it’s clear this is not a modest regional mounting but a confident, fully realized piece of theatre—one that understands both the glamour of its source and the discipline required to make classic material feel alive rather than embalmed.
When Agatha Christie published Murder on the Orient Express in 1934, the train itself was already legend. The Orient Express was the most elegant rail journey of its time, running from Paris to Istanbul and functioning as a moving enclave of wealth, discretion, and international intrigue. This was travel before commercial aviation collapsed distance and class distinctions; to ride the Orient Express was to inhabit a sealed world of fine dining, polished wood, attentive service, and absolute privacy. Christie grasped instinctively that such an environment—cosmopolitan, confined, and socially stratified—was the perfect pressure chamber for moral reckoning.
Her detective, Hercule Poirot, is often mistakenly assumed to be French, but he is emphatically Belgian, a distinction Christie maintained with intention. Poirot belongs to continental Europe rather than England, yet he stands shoulder to shoulder with Great Britain’s Sherlock Holmes and France’s Arsène Lupin as one of the great early twentieth-century fictional minds. Each embodies a different national temperament: Holmes the rational empiricist, Lupin the elegant rule-breaker, Poirot the psychological anatomist. By placing Poirot aboard the Orient Express, Christie positioned him at the literal crossroads of Europe, where class, culture, and conscience collide in close quarters.
That sense of collision—of elegance masking fracture—is what ZACH Theatre’s production gets exactly right. The set design is, quite frankly, exceptional. Through a sophisticated blend of physical construction and cinematic video design, the stage becomes a luxury train in motion, evoking the height of 1930s glamour without lapsing into museum-piece nostalgia. It is one of the most professional and immersive designs seen in Austin in recent years, rivaling Broadway touring productions in ambition and execution while remaining deeply theatrical rather than merely spectacular.
The level of craftsmanship didn’t go unnoticed. During the performance, some audience members applauded—and a few even yelped—as the sets shifted and reconfigured. It briefly caught my attention; set changes don’t usually earn applause. Still, the transitions were executed with such precision and confidence that they momentarily registered as part of the spectacle rather than mere mechanics, which says something about the overall assurance of the production.
Just as impressive is the acting. There is a striking authenticity across the ensemble: these characters feel inhabited rather than performed. At the center is Steven Pounders as Hercule Poirot, delivering a performance that is precise, intelligent, and refreshingly restrained. His accent is credible and sustained—no small achievement—and his Poirot relies on observation and psychological pressure rather than exaggerated eccentricity. It’s a portrayal that trusts Christie’s writing and rewards an attentive audience.
The supporting cast sustains that level of credibility throughout. André Martin brings warmth and momentum to Monsieur Bouc, while Charlene Hong White’s Mary Debenham is composed and quietly compelling. Damien Boykin lends Hector MacQueen a convincing nervous energy, and Fernando Rivera moves seamlessly between his dual roles as Michel the Conductor and Head Waiter. Babs George commands the stage as Princess Dragomiroff, Abigail Storm gives Greta Ohlsson an unsettling earnestness, and Sarita Ocón balances elegance with emotional depth as Countess Andrenyi. Olivia D. Dawson crackles with personality as Helen Hubbard, Scott Shipman navigates the moral complexity of Colonel Arbuthnot and Samuel Ratchett with nuance, and Daisy Armstrong—portrayed by Juniper Contegni and Aliya Thigpen—adds a poignant undercurrent that grounds the story’s ethical weight.
What ultimately makes Murder on the Orient Express endure—and what this production honors—is Christie’s refusal to offer straightforward answers. The story’s conclusion unsettles because it asks the audience to weigh justice against compassion, law against lived experience. In a cultural moment hungry for moral certainty, Christie’s ambiguity feels not dated but daring. ZACH Theatre leans into that tension without underlining it, trusting the audience to sit with discomfort instead of letting it guide them toward a verdict.
There is also something particularly resonant about seeing this story now, in a city like Austin. As audiences here grow more discerning, there is an increasing appetite for theatre that combines polish with substance—work that respects tradition while engaging contemporary sensibilities. This production does both. This production provides spectacle without gimmickry, performances without indulgence, and a narrative that continues to provoke conversation almost a century after its writing.
The mechanics of the venue remind you that theatre is still a physical experience. ZACH’s Topfer Theatre, designed by Antoine Predock and completed in 2011, feels intimate and visually engaging from nearly every seat—a benefit of thoughtful architectural planning. Yet the intimacy comes with compromises familiar to anyone who’s been to stages across Austin: the armrests feel short, there are no cup holders, and legroom can be snug unless you’re in the sweet spot several rows back. It’s hardly a deal-breaker, but it’s a reminder that architectural context matters as much as repertory when it comes to audience comfort.
In the end, this is theatre done right: elegant, intelligent, and meticulously crafted. It’s a killer of a show—figuratively speaking … or perhaps not. (Pun fully intended.)
Murder on the Orient Express runs through March 1 at ZACH Theatre. Tickets and details are available at
https://www.zachtheater.org/tickets/pdps/murder-on-the-orient-express/
Photography by AxelB Photography, courtesy of ZACH Theatre.
ZACH Theatre, 202 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78704
For information: info@zachtheater.org
Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.