Now that Christmas is over and pantomime season has passed, I got a chance to go down to the Theatre Royal and watch everybody’s favourite moustachioed Belgian detective do his thing.

In this stage adaptation of the famous novel, Hercule Poirot tries to have a nice relaxing holiday after a difficult case, but ends up having to solve a murder on a train in the middle of a snowstorm.

With a somewhat pared-back cast of characters (all exaggerated for the stage), the plot is easy to follow in comparison to the original novel, and the audience can focus on enjoying other elements of the show, such as the magnificent stage design. The intricate set features cross-sections of train cars on a rotating platform, allowing the characters to move from dining car to corridor to cabin with ease. There’s a real sense of claustrophobia as the flamboyant, hysterical and hedonistic characters clash with each other.

The Theatre Royal is a brilliant venue for a detective story. The old Victorian music hall makes me feel like I’m in a Sherlock Holmes story, but Poirot is good enough for me.

Sid Phoebus