THE official Agatha Christie Theatre Company is delighted to announce that one of Britain’s most instantly recognisable actors Robert Powell is to star as Hercule Poirot in a new production of her first ever play Black Coffee playing which comes to Malvern next week.

A quintessential English country estate is thrown into chaos following the murder of eccentric inventor Sir Claud Amory, and the theft of his new earth shattering formula. Arriving at the estate just moments too late, one man immediately senses a potent brew of despair, treachery, and deception amid the estate’s occupants. That man is Hercule Poirot.

Robert is Powell supported by a heavy-weight cast including Agatha Christie Company regulars: Liza Goddard, Gary Mavers and Ben Nealon.

Poirot debuted in Christie’s 1920 novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, making his first - and only - stage outing in her debut play, Black Coffee.

Intrigue and suspense form the back-bone of this classic spy-thriller which follows The Agatha Christie Theatre Company’s hugely successful The Hollow, The Unexpected Guest, And Then There Were None, Spider’s Web, Witness for the Prosecution, Verdict, Murder on the Nile and Go Back for Murder.

Black Coffee runs at Malvern Theatres from Monday to Saturday, April 12. To book, call the box office on 01684 892277 or visit malvern-theatres.co.uk