David Suchet will make a major return to the stage in 2026, starring as Thomas Becket in a new production of T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral for the Orange Tree Theatre.
Directed by OT Artistic Director Tom Littler in Richmond’s striking St John the Divine church, the production will run from 12 October to 7 November 2026, before transferring to the Theatre Royal Bath for a limited engagement from 10 to 21 November.
For one of Britain’s most distinguished actors, the role marks his first dramatic stage appearance in almost a decade. In Murder in the Cathedral, Suchet takes on the monumental role of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop whose return to Canterbury in 1170 ignites a deadly confrontation with King Henry II. Eliot’s verse drama explores questions of spiritual authority, political power, temptation and martyrdom—material perfectly suited to an actor of Suchet’s gravitas.
Suchet, renowned globally for playing Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s Poirot, has a five-decade career spanning stage, television and film. His theatre credits include Amadeus, Oleanna, All My Sons, Complicit, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Othello, and his Olivier-nominated performance in The Price.
The production will be staged with live choral music, heightening the drama’s ritualistic atmosphere within the expansive architecture of St John the Divine. Following Richmond, the production will be the only chance to see Suchet outside London when it transfers to the Theatre Royal Bath.
Directed by Tom Littler with Francesca Ellis, the production marks one of the Orange Tree Theatre’s most ambitious undertakings to date. Littler, whose recent credits include Twelfth Night, She Stoops to Conquer and Suite in Three Keys, frames the drama inside a real church to deepen Eliot’s themes of sanctuary, sacrifice and communal witness.
The production is part of the Orange Tree’s expanded 2026 programming, which will see the theatre producing work at multiple Richmond locations while undertaking a major front-of-house redevelopment.
Murder in the Cathedral runs from 12 October to 7 November 2026 at Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond; and, 10 to 21 November 2026 Theatre Royal Bath.
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