by Michael Baws

SIT down at a gathering with Hercule Poirot and there is a pretty good chance that a fair number of your companions will die pretty soon in mysterious circumstances.

Belgium's most famous detective is one of those people like Miss Marple, who, if you see them coming down the street, you should avoid them by dashing in the nearest travel agent and booking a one-way ticket somewhere safe and distant. It may be the only way to stay alive.

With luck, lunch with David Suchet will be far less hazardous.

Suchet brought the character of Poirot to an audience of 70 million TV watchers around the world.

On October 29 there will be a chance to lunch with him at the Colwall Park Hotel in Malvern.

The aim is to raise funds for the Malvern Theatres Trust.

The lunch is during Suchet's appearance, from October 25 to 30, at the Festival Theatre in a revival of Terence Rattigan's Man and Boy. The director is actress Maria Aitken.

Amazingly, this will be the play's first professional production since its first run in 1963. Rattigan was rather relaxed about whether it would ever be staged in his lifetime but expected it to be read by a future theatre historian, who would recognise it as his best work.

Suchet plays a financier in mid-1930s Manhattan.

With his empire about to collapse, he makes contact with the son who disowned him five years earlier in a bitter family feud.

It is a strong and powerful play with the craftsmanship for which Rattigan was renowned.

Bernard Levin described it as "one of the most fascinating pieces of theatre for many years".

The last time Malvern saw Suchet on stage was as Salieri in Amadeus.

To see this great actor in a challenging role, call the Malvern box office on 01684 892277.

To meet him over lunch, tickets are £35 and can be booked on the same number.