Agatha Christie Theatre Company: And Then There Were None
Milton Keynes Theatre 20th July - 25th July 2015

Agatha Christie’s fabulous classic and most successful work And Then There Were None staged by Bill Kenwright, has arrived at Milton Keynes Theatre – it is masterful, slick and true to the 1939 novel.

With stage productions you obviously lose the lavish location settings, wonderful vintage cars and breath taking scenery you come to expect and love with an Agatha Christie movie, however Simon Scullion’s set looks aesthetically beautiful with marvelous Art Deco styling.

The enormous circular framed window sits centre stage showing the only view of the outside world for the ten strangers invited for a weekend away by the mysterious Mr and Mrs Owens.

The ten guests find themselves thrown together on a remote island off the southern coast of England, all brought together for the same sinister reason – finding out that they all have dark secrets.

In typical Christie style with twists and turns in the plot, the audience is left to the very end to know just who did do it!  The ten “guests” are greeted by the house keeper Ethel and butler Rogers who seemingly have only just been employed by the owner of the house, they arrive one by one until they are all together in the large drawing room.

A voice eerily speaks to them all from the shadows, introducing each and every person one by one with a chilling secret – that they have all had a hand in another’s death, murderers one and all!

There are wonderful performances from the whole cast – Paul Nicholas is simply superb as the elderly and distinguished magistrate Sir Lawrence Wargrave, Fraser Hines does well as a solemn Rogers.  Mark Curry is totally believable in his role as Doctor Armstrong while Susan Penhaligon is fantastic as Emily Brent, preaching to a glamorous young Vera Claythorne (Verity Rushworth) on the immorality of the young.

Colin Buchanan as William Blore, Eric Carte and Ben Nealon as General Mackenzie and Philip Lombard respectively give well rounded character portrayals.  Judith Rae and Paul Hassall make early exits but they too are totally convincing in their roles as the forthright housekeeper Ethel Rogers and the “wizard” Anthony Marston.

The ten gradually are whittled down one by one as each guest suffers a gruesome death.  They come to realise that a childhood rhyme that hangs over the imposing mantelpiece and the “Ten Little Soldier Boys” that stand on there has some macabre significance. 

Each death is exactly like the rhyme describes…but if they are all to die, who is the killer? Is there another person hiding somewhere on the island??

Despite my best intentions I could not spot the reduction of the soldier’s numbers diminishing during the play, with the action cleverly drawing your eyes away.  The creeping suspense throughout is brilliantly done and there is more than one genuine jump out of your skin moments!

The paranoia sets in as the last guests look at each other wondering which one will be the last survivor, the last little soldier…or not?!?

Totally brilliant and a must see production.

Enjoy!

Lily B X