Regent Theatre Auditions

The brilliant Belgian detective. Meticulous, eccentric, highly intelligent, and deeply committed to justice. Commands the stage and carries the play. A French dialect will entirely suffice.

Director of the Orient Express line and Poirot’s friend. Charming, warm, humorous, and practical. Serves as a foil to Poirot’s seriousness. Bouc is also Belgian; a French dialect will do.

A distinguished Scottish military officer. Confident, honorable, disciplined, and protective. Carries himself with authority and strength. Although Scots, there should be sense of refinement present. He is not out of a Highland’s village.

Ratchett’s American secretary. Intelligent but nervous and emotionally volatile. A man carrying old wounds and hidden resentments.

The French conductor of the Orient Express. Professional, courteous, observant, and dignified.

A wealthy American businessman. Powerful, intimidating, coarse, and deeply unsettling. The murder victim whose death sets the plot in motion. Perhaps only the faintest Midwestern/Chicago coloration—not enough that the audience says, “He’s a Chicago gangster,” but enough to suggest a man who emerged from the rougher edges of American capitalism and criminality. It complements Helen Hubbard’s explicitly Midwestern flavor while distinguishing Ratchett as harder, colder, and more dangerous. Upper class American or a subtle mid-Atlantic would also suffice, but the first approach is preferred.

An English governess. Attractive, but this is not her defining characteristic. Intelligent, self-possessed, and emotionally guarded. A woman of considerable strength beneath a calm exterior. She should have an “RP” or “Received Pronunciation” of the English dialect. Her speech should be presented as organic, natural, and NOT affected in any way.

A Russian aristocrat. Formidable, witty, imperious, and highly intelligent. Commands attention whenever she enters a room.

A Swedish nurse and missionary and companion to the Princess. Compassionate, devout, earnest, and emotionally transparent. A slight Scandinavian dialect is preferred.

A Hungarian countess who also trained as a physician. Beautiful, elegant, graceful, poised, and sophisticated. Possesses intelligence, beauty, and a quiet strength that even charms Monsieur Poirot.

An outspoken American widow from the Midwest—later revealed to be celebrated American actress, Helen Arden, matriarch of the entire conspiracy. Midwest or slightly Southern dialect will do. Funny, talkative, larger-than-life, and seemingly incapable of keeping her opinions to herself. Poirot ultimately uncovers that the loud, meddlesome, seemingly comic American widow has been playing a role from the moment she boarded the train. Once “outed” her dialect might change to one that reveals a voice trained for the stage (Mid-Atlantic).

Preferably Turkish dialect. The consummate maître d’ of Istanbul’s finest hotel. Charming, efficient, and slightly self-important. The Head Waiter takes great pride in providing flawless service to the world’s elite. A delightful character role that helps set the mood of luxury, refinement, and international intrigue at the beginning of the play.