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DETAILS:Auditions will be held at Aurora Players: Roycroft Pavilion, Hamlin Park, 166 South Grove Street, East Aurora.
The production opens Friday, March 13, 2026 and runs for three weekends through Sunday, March 29. Friday/Saturday shows are at 7:30 PM; Sunday shows, 2:30 PM.
All cast members must be available for first read through on Monday, January 5. Headshots for publicity and the show program will be taken at this time.
Rehearsals begin January 6; please note any dates you are unavailable for rehearsal on the audition form. Other dates that cannot be missed are: February 28th (tech rehearsal) and dress rehearsals from March 9-11.
Visit https://auroraplayers.org/shows/murderontheorientexpress for links to the audition form, show information, audition sides and dialect tutorials.
PREPARATION:
Actors of any race and gender identity are encouraged to audition for any role.
Character ages listed in character descriptions are approximate; any actor may audition for any role.
Sides will be available at the audition and are linked on this page: https://auroraplayers.org/shows/murderontheorientexpress
The nationalities of the characters are important to the story. Accents are preferred. Suggested reference videos are also linked on this page: https://auroraplayers.org/shows/murderontheorientexpress
SYNOPSIS:
Just after midnight during the winter of 1934, the luxurious Orient Express train is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. In the morning, a passenger is discovered murdered in their bunk–stabbed eight times, and the cabin locked from inside. Isolated, and with a killer in their midst, the unusual assortment of passengers must rely on famed detective Hercule Poirot to identify the killer before they strike again!
CHARACTERS AND DESCRIPTIONS:
Hercule Poirot (40+) – world-famous detective. Eccentric, romantic, appreciative of luxury in life. Often underestimated, but fiercely intelligent and concerned with the moral good. (Belgian)
Constantine Bouc (40+) – friend of Poirot. Accustomed to luxury; owner of the train. (Belgian)
Mary Debenham (25+) – governess; cool and capable. Involved with Arbuthnot (British RP)
Hector MacQueen (25+) – personal secretary to Ratchett. Nervous, put-upon, very competent. (American)
Pierre Michel (40+) – train conductor. Charming and attentive to the passengers, extremely efficient and competent at his job. (French)
Princess Natalya Dragomiroff (50+) – imperious, domineering princess of the old school; exiled after the Bolsheviks took power. (Russian)
Greta Ohlsson (40+) – meek and pious missionary; companion to Dragomiroff. (Swedish)
Countess Elena Andreyni (20+) – medical doctor; commoner who married into the aristocracy and became a countess. (Hungarian)
Helen Hubbard (50+) – brash, uncouth, sardonic middle-aged midwesterner. (American)
Colonel James Arbuthnot (30+) – officer in the British military stationed in India; cliched in the era’s ideal of imperialist masculinity; romantically involved with Debenham. (Scottish)
Samuel Ratchett (35+) – owner of a vaguely defined import-export business. Vulgar, chauvinistic and unpleasant. (American)
Questions? Write to [email protected] or leave a message with our box office: 716-687-6727. Aurora Players welcomes all to audition, whether new or seasoned actors.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
166 South Grove Street, Roycroft Pavilion, East Aurora, NY, United States, New York 14052
