The Hollow

Agatha Christie’s ‘The Hollow’ began life as a 1946 detective novel featuring the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Given Christie’s well documented antipathy to her own creation, it came as no surprise that when she transferred the novel to the stage, she removed Poirot from the cast list, along with his little grey cells. As a result, the play offers more opportunities for the whole cast to shine rather than risk the enterprise becoming a one-man show. I believe that the dreaded Covid had plagued the production and – as in the best traditions of a Christie whodunnit – several last-minute cast changes were needed and everyone involved in the production is to be applauded for bringing a polished production to the stage given the challenging conditions behind the scenes. This was a thoroughly - and reassuringly – old fashioned and traditional production which suited the material perfectly.

The first sign that this very traditional take on an Agatha Christie play was perfectly suited to the audience was the fact that when the curtain went up, the scenery received a round of applause (something I haven’t experienced now for well over a decade) which was a charmingly old-world reaction. As a frequent visitor to Devon and Dorset, the Sidmouth Theatre summer season is always a must-see addition to any holiday with their traditional menu of whodunnits and farces: applauding the set was a lovely reminder of times past. We found ourselves in the garden room of the Angkatell household – French windows leading onto the garden, naturally – and eagerly awaiting the introduction of our cast of potential suspects and victims. I make it a rule when writing show reports of whodunnits that I keep talk of the plot to a minimum (after all, nobody wants the big reveal to be spoiled prior to seeing a future production) so there will be no revelations here dear reader. Suffice to say that the usual twists and turns an audience would expect from an Agatha Christie mystery, with the usual suspects with dubious pasts and mysterious motivations, were in evidence here and the stage was set for an evening of gripping mystery and clue-spotting.

Sir Henry and Henrietta are discovered in the garden room, Henrietta appraising her latest sculpture and Sir Henry exuding a quiet authority with his newspaper. Ian Edmundson was perfectly cast as the stately and guileless Sir Henry and Mandy Hall gave a spirited performance as the resident sculptress. I thought the sculpture in question really rather good; full marks to Ruth Cockayne and Rachel Sullivan for ‘the Worshipper’. Poppy Flanagan as Lady Angkatell was the eccentric star of the show, she floated on and off stage throughout the production with a breezy elegance and her every remark was a joy of batty and bewildered humour. Anne Slack played the superannuated flapper girl Midge, friend of the family (and one of those necessary house guests common in Christie tales to ensure the suspect list is suitably well populated) with cheeky charm. Tim Greenwood was suitably miffed as put-upon Edward Angkatell and film star diva Veronica Cray was brought to life with period charm by Gill Drinkwater. Poor put-upon Gerda was played by Kath Greenwood who only occasionally tipped over into a strangely ‘am dram’ version of tearful hysteria and her philandering husband – and murder victim – Dr Cristow was played by Richard Spillman with an assured old school command of the stage.

Liberty Doyle was a treat as feisty maid Doris – an excellent performance here – and faithful butler Gudgeon was played with doddering charm by Harry Chambers. Anthony Henry made a great job of Inspector Colquhoun, bringing an amusing slant to a very wordy role, ably assisted by Chris Slack as surely the oldest sergeant ever to have been kept on the force. Chris also injected a comical twinkle to the role and the long arm of the law was ably represented by this pair of old pros.

As is typical of a Christie classic, all of the cast have their chance to shine as the investigation proceeds and the interviews progress. Red herrings abound, the usual complicated character back stories are uncovered for further plot intrigues, shocking revelations follow on from the grisly murder (which was well presented on stage) and of course, by the final moments, justice is done. One of the charms of the classic whodunnit formula is the opportunity for the audience to play along and discuss theories in the bar during the interval and ‘The Hollow’ is perhaps an example of one of the finest and most straightforward classic murder mysteries to be brought to the stage.

Costumes were all appropriate for the period setting and the set was dressed well for the most part. I would suggest that perhaps in future, certain elements of set dressing could be scaled up to suggest an awareness of the audience (the all-important painting of the mansion over the fireplace needed to be at least four times larger for example) as the exigencies of a theatrical production presented in a reasonably large auditorium need to cheat a bit, rather than attempt a cosy realism for the performers. There was a tremendous amount of wig-work on display, perhaps reflecting the fact that the cast were almost all of a certain age, resulting in quite a few instances of the audience having to take some huge leaps of suspension of disbelief, as many characterisations and relationships across the board stretched credulity to breaking point. Given the fact that there were many last-minute cast changes, I shan’t go into specifics – and as the director of several G&S productions, I’m all too aware of the need to do what you can with who you’ve got, ignoring the need for ‘age appropriate’ casting! - as it didn’t really affect the enjoyment of the whodunnit element. It was a minor triumph for this reasonably sleek and effective production to reach the stage at all, given the terrible hammering that amateur theatre has taken over the last couple of years Covid-wise. That said, I could have done without the rather pompous and opinionated elderly lady sat near to me in the audience who felt the need to cough her lungs up rather violently at regular intervals throughout the show...

My thanks go to all at the Fylde Coast Players for managing to bring this old-fashioned slice of theatrical ham to the stage in very trying circumstances. It was a thoroughgoing pleasure to be out and about once again for a lovely amateur theatre experience. Being in the esteemed company of our Regional NODA boss kept me on my best behaviour and (when we were eventually allowed into the Lowther Pavilion) I think I can say that we both had a very enjoyable evening. More power to your elbow and I wish you well with future productions.   

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