12 September 2016

And then there were none


Review by: Paul Towers, 12 September 2016
And  Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Leicester Drama Society production
Little Theatre 12 – 17 September

“Agatha Christie thriller”

And Then There Were None is a pretty standard Agatha Christie thriller; a select number of people (in this case 10) stranded in an isolated locations (here an hotel on an island) all with secrets. One by one they are discounted (this time by their untimely deaths) until there is only one. But is the one the one?
Leicester Drama Society (LDS) has a fine record for putting on thrillers and light fluffy romantic pieces. This Christie, a very popular play on the amateur circuit due to its single set, has a nice mix of characters, some more fully drawn than others.
The title comes from a children’s nursery rhyme hanging in a frame above a set of decorative soldiers. The figurines disappear one by one as the various victims are despatched. Starting with ten little soldiers the final two are all that is left as the murderer is revealed. My only grouse is that, having been engrossed in the recent BBC adaptation, I did remember who dunnit. However  that didn’t spoil my enjoyment unduly.
When the original book was published in 1939 it was called Ten Little N******s in the UK but And Then There Were None in the US where, even then, the ‘N’ word was considered unsavoury. Even when it was changed to Ten Little Indians it was soon decided this was still not inoffensive enough and so the current title was adopted from the US publication.
As is usual with LDS productions the standard of acting is very high from a cast that, year after year, we see in a wide variety of roles. A great single set depicting the hotel’s sea view lounge is all that is needed as the claustrophobia of the situation ramps up. It would be unfair to single out any of the actors as this is very much an ensemble piece ably directed by resident bossy boots, John Bale.
And Then There Were None is on until 17 September

First published on Western Gazette

4 comments:

  1. Unfair but interesting none the less, surely?

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    Replies
    1. I fail to see what you can possibly call unfair.
      Maybe if you didn't hide behind an anonymous ID I could take your coment seriously.

      Delete
  2. the comment of unfair was not mine but taken from the review, perhaps I should of stated my thought a little clearer for you. Would it not be good to actually read the reviewers opinions on the performances, not particularly controversial though maybe you disagree.

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  3. I am the reviewer. I wrote the review
    As I said, it is an ensemble piece, no individual character stands out as a 'star'. They are all very integral to the story. None is more important than the others.
    Each character gets their moment to shine, some for slightly longer than others.
    If I were to critique each individual member of the cast (and that would be the only fair way with this production) my review would be 10 times as long and very boring. It would also be very unfair to those actors whose characters are killed off early, as well as being a plot spoiler.

    ReplyDelete