- UK Premiere
- 19 March 2023
- Running TIme
- 2hrs 30mins
- Age
- 12+
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
Based on the best selling Agatha Christie novel of the same name, this new production of And Then There Were None, directed Lucy Bailey (Witness for the Prosecution, London), is currently on its tour of the UK. I had the privilege of watching this at the Theatre Royal Plymouth on Tuesday evening.
Copyright: Cover Image and production shots (Manuel Harlan) UK Tour.
In classic Agatha Christie fashion, the audience are kept gripped up until the final reveal which left me with goosebumps in the closing moments of the show. Even if (like me) you are aware of how this particular story ends, it does not take away from the suspense that Bailey and the cast skilfully build throughout both acts.
The production itself is simple, however the use of a limited set only fed further into that feeling of claustrophobia felt by the characters as they are gradually picked off and come to suspect their fellow guests.
Set designer Mike Britton cleverly utilises a travelling curtain to provide a feeling of separation within the set, establish transitions and artfully provide an ethereal nature to the ghosts of the guests past as their guilt is slowly unravelled.
Whilst the concept of the curtain was very clever, this is where the show loses a few points on execution for me. On several occasions the actors could be seen fumbling to find an opening which broke the immersion for a brief moment. I must say that this was not a deal breaker as within moments I was fully absorbed back into the show and once again gripped by Christie’s tale!
A standout performance for me was the commanding presence of David Yelland as Judge Wargrave. Perhaps more exaggerated than previous imaginings of the characters are those of William Bloor and Emily Brent (Andrew Lancel and Katy Stephens respectively). For a show that deals with the heavy themes of death, guilt and grief they were able to provide moments of levity.
With the original story set on an island off the Devonshire coast it was clear the audience were delighted by the local references including our very own Plymouth.
This is the first Agatha Christie stage adaption I have had the pleasure of watching and I have no doubt it will not be my last. If you have the opportunity to catch this whilst it is on tour, it is one to see!
UK Tour Tickets available here. The Tour is currently running through to April 2024!
Written for Matinée Dog by our very own Caitlin Weeks.
