Denial Is a River in Egypt: “Murder on the Nile,” at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through September 21

The Playcrafters Barn Theatre brings another of Agatha Christie’s mysteries to life with its production of Murder on the Nile, directed by Karen Riffey. With twists, gunshots, and more exposition than you can shake a fully loaded pistol at, this play will no doubt please fans of the genre.

Let’s go through the list of things you’d expect to see in a murder mystery – particularly this murder mystery. A remote location? Check: a cruise boat traveling down the Nile. A cast of shifty characters with motives to kill? Partial check: Some characters never surpass the threshold of suspicion. A witty and clever detective to put all the pieces together and solve whodunit? Missing in action. Yes, for whatever reason, Christie chose to excise Hercule Poirot (and change the title) for her adaptation of Death on the Nile. If you’re like me and still remember the 2022 release of a film adaptation directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, you’ll be shocked to find no mustachioed sleuth in sight. Rather, the guests of the cruise solve the crime themselves. Eventually.

To get it out of the way early, my least favorite part of this production was the first scene. It’s rough – at least 40 minutes of characters boarding the ship one by one and then talking. Talking at one another, past one another, through one another, but never seemingly to one another. Everyone dumps exposition about who they are, what they do, who they’re related to … and, if I’m being totally honest, I don’t think I retained a lick of it. Which is not to blame the cast, many of whom give good performances.

Nor do I think Riffey is to blame, as the blocking employs the length of Playcrafters' thrust stage and keeps things from getting visually stagnant. If I had to blame someone, it would be Christie herself. There are just so many words. It’s hard to know what’s important and should be remembered later as motive. Nor does it even seem important to retain the info dumped on you, as it's all repeated ad nauseum throughout the remainder of the show, lest you forget that so-and-so actually hates so-and-so because they work for such-and-such.

Again, the performers are fine enough with the material they’re given, give or take an accent here and there, and fill the roles of archetypes as they need to. There’s the overbearing and money-obsessed matriarch (Teri Nelson) and her subservient niece (Ashley Hoskins). There are the newlyweds (Leslie Day and Justin Raver), one of whom has suddenly become very rich after saying “I do.” They're accompanied by their French maid (Julia Sears) who is in desperate need of a raise. The newlyweds are also being tailed by a character played by Khalia Denise, who’s got an ax to grind.

There’s a priest (Gregory Braid) who drinks and has no issue casually asking for alms of one thousand pounds – about $100,000 in modern U.S. dollars. There’s the doctor (Kathryn Klatt) who comes from an “unimportant and small” European country that’s been impoverished and taken advantage of by English fat cats. There’s an eminently enjoyable “young man” (Mark Garden), a witty socialist with contempt for the rich. Finally, the cast is rounded out by Scot Gehret, Jim Straus, and Jonna Hicks-Bird, who play a variety of roles, most of whom are hitting the rich clientele up for a tip. Noticing a through line?

I’m pleasantly surprised at how much of Christie’s story has aged well, with class tensions and financial disparity fueling much of the tension. Granted, the tension in Murder on the Nile doesn’t really begin mounting until the bullets start flying, but from there it’s much smoother sailing. Indeed, much of Saturday’s crowd appeared engaged, with murmurs and the occasional gasp escaping as more and more plot unfolded. I did notice that there were seemingly a few line issues, with dead air here and there, as well as some slow cues. Not to mention the telltale sign of one actor waiting a spell, realizing their cue isn’t coming, and then jamming their fellow actor’s line onto the top of theirs to keep things moving.

The production's technical elements ranged from serviceable to bare minimum. On the stronger side, Riffey's and Elias Holmes' scenic design utilized the full length of the stage, had a variety of period-appropriate décor, a pleasant range of color and tone, and some gorgeously detailed floor wash. And I did enjoy the variety and detail of Holmes’ prop design. I found the rare sound cues, however, too quiet during Saturday's performance and the lighting design never moved past a point of “on” or “off,” despite many characters referring to the late hour of an evening that was just as bright as the previous scene's noon.

In truth, my misgivings with the production are largely my own, as I’m no fan of murder mysteries. I resonate much more with stories that are vehicles for character rather than information, and Christie's story is much more preoccupied with the latter than the former. But Saturday's audience seemed engaged, though the length of the evening – more than two-and-a-half hours including intermission – was certainly felt by the end of the night. Fans of murder mysteries in general and Agatha Christie in particular will find enough to enjoy here, though I don’t believe this production will make anyone else a convert.

Murder on the Nile runs at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL) through September 21, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.