And Then There Were None

The mood was set for this “whodunnit” before we even entered the theatre, with eerie noises heard from the stage in the bar (which also continued during the interval). This had the audience eager to know what was going to happen.

When you know that Agatha Christie adapted this play from one of her bestselling books, the expectation is high. For me the sign of a good murder mystery is the talk in the bar at the interval, in which everyone has a different idea as to who the murderer could be - even better if the butler has survived to this point as we all know they did it... or did they?! - and this was achieved seamlessly by Blackburn Drama Club.

The play concentrates around the living room in a house on an island, where the cast/victims meet and get to know each other. The set was achieved with a high level of simple detail, and with the curtains open to set the scene before the play began. The show started with a lovely piece of music, setting the mood for the show but not necessarily the time period we were supposed to be in. Throughout the show, the cast used all of the 3 exits from the living room, however if you were following the story to find out where characters were at the time of each of the 10 murders it became obvious that the kitchen was moving from side to side of the house with the cast popping off stage willy-nilly in either direction, which was a little confusing if you were keen on trying to remember who was where and when at any given moment. The French doors on to the garden were lovely and along with the detail in the living room and the garden made the house seem very grand.

In the living room we first meet the newly employed Butler and Cook, Mr and Mrs Rodgers played by Siman Hall and Annalise Pennington, of the house. Then, by Fred the boatman (Jonathan Burridge), who although he makes only a couple of appearances, successfully helped set the location of the Cornish Island house.

Fred is dispatched with orders to return with the guests, starting with another new employee, to the mystery couple that have invited the guests and have been delayed in their arrival to the party. The self-confident, yet subtly fragile secretary Vera, played by Charlie Dearden, accompanied by the flirtatious Philip Lombard, played by Paddy Darnell-Walsh. They are quickly followed by the rest of the 11 strong cast of Willian Blore (Dominic Dwyer), General Mackenzie (Travor Robins), Emily Brent (Antonia Holden), Sir Laurence Wargrave (Steve Cooke) and Dr Armstrong (Clive Stack). Here we get to know the future victims, their motives, their various guilty secrets and the pivotal plot line of the 'Ten Soldiers' poem.

Getting the introductions to 10 people across to the audience in a short and snappy time is a difficult task: not just simple introductions of names but also making sure to highlight plot points that are necessary to keep the play moving. This was achieved with the help of the holiday attire costumes which were fitting with the time period and taking the time with the introductions not to rush though them.

In keeping with the time period, the smoking on stage worked well to highlight some of the nervous characteristics of the potential murderers. However, I didn’t see any notices that smoking was going to be used in the programme and I didn’t appreciate the use of herbal cigarettes, which have a distinctive smell and taste at second hand - which is  rather noxious - rather than using real cigarettes/cigars. Smoking on stage is not a problem but please do it properly and pop a warning in the programme.

The technical and stage crew did an excellent job with this production, not just in setting the mood and making the storm that traps the guests on the island but also, with the level of detail (eg, with with the wet coats when the characters had been out in the storm). At times I found myself counting the ten soldiers on the fireplace, only to surprise myself that one or more was missing and I hadn’t seen them moved. There are two special shout outs here for me: firstly, the lighting effect applied to the hanging of one of the characters was excellent; secondly, the professionalism of the stage crew when that one candle didn’t want to be snuffed and was a lovely accidental break to the drama of the murders.

Overall, this was a successful production filled with suspense, surprise and realization. Well done to all involved and it is always nice to welcome some new members to a society and see them shine.

 

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