And Then There Were None

Well what a great first visit to The Oxted Players. Thank you for making me feel welcome.  This play has lost none of its drama over the years and was first adapted for the stage in 1943 by Agatha Christie from her novel. 

The curtains open to an excellent period set (rather bright green walls!). Mr and Mrs Rogers, the manservant and cook, are preparing for the arrival of a group of guests, by boat, on to ‘Soldier Island’ off the coast of Devon. We learn that all have been complicit in the deaths of other people and are charged with their respective crimes by a gramophone recording played to them and that they have been brought to the island to pay for their actions. They cannot escape the island and the weather is turning inclement. Gradually they are killed in turn in a manner that seems to parallel the deaths in the nursery rhyme ‘Ten Little Soldier Boys”. Who is the murderer? The suspense lasts until the last scene, when all is revealed!

What a superb cast this was. It would be too difficult to go through the attributes of each cast member as everyone looked and acted absolutely right for the role being played. They all worked well as individuals and in ensemble scenes all thanks to the director - Chris Bassett, who also played the boatman Fred Narracott. He created so much movement on a small stage without ever making it look overcrowded. The set designers and stage dressers did a splendid job to make the set look in period. The right costumes, shoes and hairstyles make such a difference. Lighting and scene changes worked beautifully to make this, a most enjoyable evening’s entertainment.

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