Winchester News Online
Review – Death on the Nile at Bath Royal Theatre
As an avid consumer of Agatha Christie’s writing, its safe to say that I have consumed pretty much all of the media on Death o the Nile. As any reader would know you have to read the book first before watching the movie, so as to know the original storyline. Whilst I loved the book, when I watched the movie I didn’t enjoy it as much (probably because they killed off my favourite character!) although visually it was amazing.
The cast first started performing at the end of September this year and are suppose to continue until May 2026 performing in the UK and Ireland. I was very lucky to get a seat in the last performace in Bath!
Would you travel down the River Nile when you know Hercule Poirot is joining?
When I first found out that the Bath Royal Theatre were showing this I was quite skeptical on how they would pull this set off as the plot was primarily set on a steamer. To my surprise it was done in a way that made it easy for the audience to understand where the characters were and effective in the way it seperated ‘rooms’. For me set is very important when I’m watching a show, as you could have the best actors but bad set and it wouldn’t draw me as an audience member into the show. I like to be able to fully immerse myself in the show and the believability of it. One aspect that I really enjoyed was the smoothness of the set changes, it almost looked like things where moving by themselves. There was a bed that was used to transport the ‘dead’ body which was moved around so smoothly that I almost forgot that it was just a piece of set. Overalll I think that the set was very ambitious and pulled of so well, that I can say it’s one of the best sets put on stage that was adapted from a book. It really transported me and made my feel like I was also travelling down the Nile with the characters.
The costumes where amazing and relevant to the time that the book was set in. The actress who played Linnet, Libby Alexandra-Cooper, was first seen on stage in a glimmering dress. As it sparkled under the lighting it instanly drew the audience’s eye to her as you realised that she was an important character. The bold appearance was more impactful than I originally thought it was as you could practically see her chracters impact that she would have on the rest of the characters.
Having already wtached a range of different actors play Hercule Poirot from David Suchet to John Malkovich I had quite high expectations of what the actor playing Poirot should be like. Mark Hadfield met those expectations head on. His performance as Poirot was so original and drew me in so much that I almost believed he was a Belgian detective. I was mostly impressed with how he kept up the accent throughout. I’ve tried just an American accent and that was hard! The rest of the cast also pulled off both the personalities and originality of the other characters, whilst having quite good working chemistry with each other which made the play even more enjoyable for me.
However as always there are critics, this time my opinions on the plot. One of the bigger things for me was that it was altered from the novel. Whereas in the movie they killed my favourite character, in the play they didn’t have all of the murders. Now I do understand that performing it live is very different but I found it didn’t fully delve into the darkness and mystery that Christie normally has. I found that this was also reflected in the balance between humour and murder throughout the play. At some points it was a bit too light for the plot. Therefore it took away some of the suspense that I felt was due to really up the performance for the audience. Although I do think that quite a bit of this is due to me being very passionate about book adaptions!
“Wearing a poppy during Remembrance shows that you care,” says the Royal British Legion, as this year’s Poppy Appeal is launched in the lead-up to Remembrance Day.
The annual fundraising campaign by the Royal British Legion supports members of the Armed Forces community, including veterans, personnel and their families.
Chris Hayward is managing the Poppy Appeal in North Hampshire & Winchester and said: “It’s a national symbol, and it shows the armed forces community that you appreciate everything that they do.”
She added: “For those who want to get involved, you can wear your poppy, donate to the Royal British Legion, Poppy Appeal, and also participate in the collections and volunteer as a collector.”
The Poppy Appeal remains the Legion’s biggest annual fundraiser.
Last year, more than 32 million poppies were distributed across the UK, and about £51.4 million was raised in donations.
Winchester will be recognising remembrance itself, with a service at the Cathedral on Sunday, 9th November, in addition to a service at Winchester Guildhall at 11 am on Armistice Day.
The service will begin at 9:20 am and will include a procession from The Broadway to Winchester Cathedral, as well as wreath laying too.
Donations from the campaign go towards services including mental health support, housing assistance and employment advice for veterans transitioning to civilian life.
For more information on how to donate, volunteer or order poppies online, visit: britishlegion.org.uk/poppyappeal.
A panel of gardening experts answered the burning questions of Winchester gardeners at a Question Time style Q&A held at St Swithun’s School.
Questions ranged from what soil to use this time of year to why some types of plants aren’t flourishing in Winchester but, as the gardening event fell on World Mental Health Day, this posed another question: whether the two are connected?
Gardening is an example of a “nature-related activity”, which can be recommended by the NHS to improve mental wellbeing under a term called social prescribing.
The panel’s Charles Carr, head of Wholesale Nurseries at Hilliers, shared how he thinks gardening is beneficial to your mental health.
Charles described it as “relaxation” and “contacting with nature”.
He believes it is a very good way of “de-stressing and putting yourself into the moment”.
Attendees of the event also shared why they enjoy their hobby.
Neil Budd, a parent from the school and regular BBC Gardener’s Question Time listener, got into gardening as a young boy but now enjoys the “peace and quiet” that it provides from his children.
He wasn’t surprised to learn that nature-related activities like gardening can be recommended by the NHS, as he says it helps you relax as well as being a break away from work.
Former social worker, Roberta Brockman is an ex St Swithuns pupil who returned to the school for the Gardeners Q&A.
She emphasised how the hobby encourages people to join gardening clubs and enter shows, which can create new friendships for people later in life.
According to NHS England, more than 8,500 people were referred to a green social prescribing activity between April 2021 and March 2023 and findings showed improvements in mental health.
When is the last time you picked up a book for the sake of your own enjoyment?
Once a beloved childhood pastime, reading books is now becoming more rare among young people.
An annual report by the National Literacy Trust found that reading rates among younger generations are plummeting every year.
The study found that the amount of young people aged eight to 18 who read for their own enjoyment has dropped to just 1 in 3.
This has resulted in a 36% decrease from when the study began taking place 20 years ago.
Professionals are growing concerned about young peoples comprehension skills, empathy levels, and their creativity, all attributes which are strongly connected to reading.
In an age of scrolling, streaming, and gaming, the appeal of a paperback no longer seems to compete with screens.
But in Winchester, community efforts are helping to spark that interest again.
Local children’s bookseller Jo works with schools to run author events and workshops to get stories back into young hands.
“Authors go in to schools and talk to the kids directly about their books and get them really engaged and I see that have such a great effect.”
As reading habits evolve, experts advise the goal isn’t to fight technology, it’s to find new ways to make stories matter again.
For reading to thrive like before, families, schools, and publishers will need to work together to make stories feel relevant and remind young people that reading is educational in more ways than one.
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