Murder on the Orient Express
Photos by: Kenton Yeager
Murder on the Orient Express follows Agatha Christie’s famous detective, Hercule Poirot, on his investigation into the brutal death of Bruno Cassetti.
At the beginning of the process, I immersed myself in all things Agatha Christie and became fascinated with the relationship between her and her famous detective, Hercule Poirot. Where does one begin and the other end? It’s unclear if Christie shares Poirot's arrogance or vanity. Still, the depth of intellectual complexity and love of layered storytelling lies deep within both the author and the character. With that in mind, I began to imagine a meticulous geometry that would inspire both the production's visual aesthetic and scenic movement. A geometry that paid homage to the mind who created this piece. It was orderly, symmetrical, precise, highly detailed, but most of all, elegant.
While the original Orient Express design was founded in the Art Deco movement, I felt that a more complicated and linear-forward style would best achieve my goals. Also, to enhance the theatricality of our production and stay within budget, I decided to create a skeletal structure for the train car locations. The open concept allowed for a better relationship with projections but did not lack any of the details essential to bring this highly decorative period to life.
Finally, this play demands at least five locations: a hotel, a train station, and three separate train car locations. I felt this required a pattern of movement much more complicated than a simple “on and off.” I imagined an environment that worked like 3d Tetris and sought to have scenic units reveal themselves on all axes – above to down, below to up, downstage to upstage, and side to side. To not visually overwhelm the audience, I sought to provide a deliberately constrained and locational background to enhance the mystery. This blend brought the harmonious balance that Poirot seeks when solving a crime.
At the beginning of the process, I immersed myself in all things Agatha Christie and became fascinated with the relationship between her and her famous detective, Hercule Poirot. Where does one begin and the other end? It’s unclear if Christie shares Poirot's arrogance or vanity. Still, the depth of intellectual complexity and love of layered storytelling lies deep within both the author and the character. With that in mind, I began to imagine a meticulous geometry that would inspire both the production's visual aesthetic and scenic movement. A geometry that paid homage to the mind who created this piece. It was orderly, symmetrical, precise, highly detailed, but most of all, elegant.
While the original Orient Express design was founded in the Art Deco movement, I felt that a more complicated and linear-forward style would best achieve my goals. Also, to enhance the theatricality of our production and stay within budget, I decided to create a skeletal structure for the train car locations. The open concept allowed for a better relationship with projections but did not lack any of the details essential to bring this highly decorative period to life.
Finally, this play demands at least five locations: a hotel, a train station, and three separate train car locations. I felt this required a pattern of movement much more complicated than a simple “on and off.” I imagined an environment that worked like 3d Tetris and sought to have scenic units reveal themselves on all axes – above to down, below to up, downstage to upstage, and side to side. To not visually overwhelm the audience, I sought to provide a deliberately constrained and locational background to enhance the mystery. This blend brought the harmonious balance that Poirot seeks when solving a crime.
VR white model walk through
When starting to design Murder on the Orient Express it became very clear that the train was a character in itself and needed to function within the scene changes as fluid as possible. I needed to find a way to best communicate this with not only my director but also the rest of the design team and actors. I created a VR environment for everyone to walk through and engage with the scenery before anything was built. Participants were able to explore either on stage, back stage, or even within the house where the audience would be seated. This clip shows the white model phase of the design process, when I was still working out how everything moved within the space before adding color and textures.
Reviews:
"As the show curtain rose on DJ Pike’s beautifully atmospheric set for Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of Murder on the Orient Express which opened last week, I halfway expected the audience to break into applause at the sight. But, that would have been a bit premature, for there was even more awe-provoking, kinetic stagecraft to follow.."
-Alan Sherrod - Art Knoxville. Article Link
-Alan Sherrod - Art Knoxville. Article Link
Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" opens at Clarence Brown Theatre. From new technology to a new artistic director, the Clarence Brown Theater is bringing the future to the stage.
-Katie Inman - WBIR News. Article Link
-Katie Inman - WBIR News. Article Link
By: Agatha Christie and Ken Ludwig
Director: John Sipes
Scenic/Projection Designer: DJ Pike
Lighting Designer: Josh J. Mullady
Costume Designer: M. Hromek
Sound Designer: Joe Payne
Director: John Sipes
Scenic/Projection Designer: DJ Pike
Lighting Designer: Josh J. Mullady
Costume Designer: M. Hromek
Sound Designer: Joe Payne
