"Murder on the Orient Express" Play in Need of Actors
Audition for "Murder on the Orient Express" play. Seeking cast. ONLY LOCAL TALENT WILL BE CONSIDERED. Please see the breakdown below. About the project: Famous detective Hercule Poirot is called back from Istanbul to London on urgent business. He intends to book a first-class compartment on the Orient Express, run by his former friend and colleague, Monsieur Bouc. The train is surprisingly full, but Bouc manages to secure Poirot a spot in the first-class cabin. While aboard the Orient Express, Poirot meets a host of peculiar characters: an aging Russian princess, her Swedish companion, a Hungarian countess, a Minnesota housewife, a Scottish colonel, an English governess, a French conductor, a disagreeable American businessman, and his anxious secretary. While aboard the train, the angry businessman, Samuel Ratchett, corners Poirot and demands Poirot to investigate a series of ominous letters that have been sent to Ratchett, threatening his life. As a snowdrift halts the Orient Express in its tracks, Ratchett is found stabbed multiple times in his locked train compartment. Poirot is tasked by Monsieur Bouc to solve the murder, as the killer could still be in their midst. As Poirot investigates, conflicting clues and convoluted alibis lead him to dead ends. Over the course of 48 hours, will Poirot be able to solve the case of the Murder on the Orient Express? Additional info: Please bring an actor resume and headshot to be submitted to the production team. All those auditioning should prepare a one minute dramatic monologue. Actors should also be prepared to explore cold reads with sides from the show. Callbacks Wednesday, November 12th at 6:00 pm, 2025. Rehearsals: Monday/Wednesday/Sunday evenings 6-9 pm beginning November 23rd, 2025. Tech Rehearsals: Sunday, February 1st – Wednesday, February 4th, 2026. Performance dates include: Thursday, February 5, 2026 @ 7:30 PM Friday, February 6, 2026 @ 7:30 PM Attendance is required for all tech week dates and performance dates set forth. Please be advised in order to enter the Theatre during auditions all individuals over 18 must provide a license or ID. For all individuals entering the building bags will be checked by security. If you are interested, please apply.
12 roles
Lead, non-singer. Passport from: Belgium. Occupation: Detective. Meticulous and exacting, Poirot is a keen observer of detail and an astute judge of character. Certain that the crime was committed by someone on the train, he confidently and patiently works his way to a shocking solution.
Supporting. Non-singer. Passport from: Belgium. Occupation: Gentleman. A young middle-aged man of good humor, Monsieur Bouc is an old friend of Poirot’s. He appears removed from the crime, often acting as Poirot’s sounding board, but no one on the train is above suspicion.
Supporting, Non-singer. Passport from: England. Occupation: Governess. An English beauty, Mary bears a certain sadness in her eyes. When she first appears, she is very anxious. Perhaps she is harboring a terrible secret…
Supporting, Non-singer. Passport from: The USA. Occupation: Personal secretary and translator. A nervous young American with a strained, rather beleaguered face, Hector appears to be suppressing something. Perhaps he knows more than he is willing to tell.
Supporting, Non-singer. Passport from: France. Occupation: Train Conductor. A good-looking Frenchman, about forty, Michel has a quiet, almost grave sense of humor. He’s seen a lot in his years on the Orient Express, and he knows his way around the train, making him particularly well positioned to get away with murder.
Supporting, Non-singer. Passport from: Russia. Occupation: Royalty. The Russian princess, now in her seventies, enters her compartment “like a galleon in full sail.” Expensively dressed and handsomely bejeweled, she certainly wouldn’t need to kill for money. But might she have another motive?
Supporting, Non-singer. Passport from: Sweden. Occupation: Nurse and missionary. Plain and modest, Greta has a frightened, sheep-like quality about her. There is something odd about this woman. Could she be harboring a deadly secret?
Supporting, Non-singer. Passport from: Hungary. Occupation: Royalty. Countess Eléna Andrenyi is out of a fairy tale. She’s brilliantly beautiful and always dressed to the nines in furs and diamonds. She seems too good to be true — but is she a murderer?
Supporting, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Soprano. Passport from: The USA. Occupation: Widow. An outspoken American, well dressed with a touch of flamboyance, Mrs. Hubbard is a tough-talking broad with rough edge and a bold sense of humor. She seems the least likely to commit murder, but is there something about her the others don’t know?
Supporting, Non-singer. Passport from: Scotland. Occupation: Colonel. A Scotsman in his mid-thirties, Arbuthnot is handsome and very matter of fact. He’s hopelessly in love with Mary. Would he kill for her?
(Also known as Cassetti) - Supporting, Non-singer. Passport from: The USA. Occupation: Victim. A middle-aged American businessman, Ratchett is brusque and unforgiving, with a threatening demeanor and a whiplash of a voice. He’s made plenty of enemies… almost everyone has wished him dead. But whodunit?
Supporting, Non-singer. Passport from: Unknown Occupation: Head Waiter on the Orient Express. Professional in demeanor, he is knowledgeable and a bit overconfident. Mystery fans know it’s a cliché, but never rule out the possibility that The Butler Did It.
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