And Then There Were None -Review- People's Theatre

And Then There Were None
People's Theatre 
17 January 2012 

Ten people, each with a guilty past, are invited to a remote island house by an unknown host.  Once there, a mysterious voice indicts them of murder and they are killed off, one by one, until only two are left...

I must admit I normally shy away from detective/whodunit series when browsing the channels on the googlebox. I am more in favour of light relief of celebs fighting/boring each other, or comedy shows dedicated to libelous actions. I have also been dealt a hand in theatre, where the vast majority of my reviews have been in the comic/humourous vein.
So to review a top drama by Agatha Christie is indeed a treat.
Maybe somewhat of a privilege, seeing as though I am back at Peoples again.
The beautiful stage set up of a front room of a mansion hits us as soon as curtain up, the design; straight from the 1930's era, when the book (originally entitled 'Ten Little Niggers') was first published, with some lovely detail. A real WOW to get us underway.
One by one the invited guests form into the house, each not knowing the other, with no discernible link between them. The first mystery that needs to be solved: where is the host and why the gathering of strangers.
All of a sudden a strange recording bellows out and implicates all in the room of wrongful deeds.
Leading the hunt for answers, over the the three acts of the play, is Sir Lawrence Wargrave (Mike Smith), a retired Judge. From his persona you can tell that he is weighing up his fellow housemates.
Throughout the play, which contains more twists and turns than a Scalextric track, the acting and presence  from the whole of the PTAG is second to none, I would expect nothing else to be honest, it has been an honour to see these thesbians time after time, each of them getting that little bit better too.
Actors such as Peter Harrison and Steve Robertson, who play Captain Lombard and William Blore, made this a great opening night, with flawless performances. Great interactions between all of the cast on stage led the audience to thoroughly enjoy themselves. The play flowed very well, with an exciting edge to it, with each character bringing their own merits to the fore. It is great to see such fine work being appreciated by the crowd, although not full, everybody seemed to enjoy the constant thrills of what-was-going-to-happen-next.
Very well directed and produced by Hugh Keegan/ Kay Worswick, with top marks for the night going to Set Designer Stewart Dives.

I would still probably keep the classic crime viewing to watching from the safety of the theatre audience, although at the minute I am typing this up while a re-run of Big Brother is booming out..oh how I would like Agatha Christie to get involved with all them lot. I would quite easily slip a little bit of poison in to a few of their cups, I can tell you, ha.
And Then There Were None isn't laugh a minute, which you would expect for Agatha Christie, but some great acting, a great script, makes this a show that isn't to be missed.

Runs until Saturday 21st Jan.


Michael Hunter