Melbourne, it’s time to get out your sleuthing cap and engage your inquisitive nature once again. Author and playwright known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie’s bestselling mystery novel turned stage play And Then There Were None has opened at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre for a strictly limited five-week run.
With 66 crime novels, over 150 short stories and 25 plays, Christie’s books have sold over a billion copies in English alone. Christie is the most widely published author of all time, including well-known titles such as Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and The Mousetrap (her most successful play and still running in London as the longest-running play in history).
Known for her inclusion of detective/sleuth characters Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot to sniff out motives, identify the twists and turns and ultimately reveal the ending, And Then There Were None is one of her few murder mysteries with no central detective character. With the ability to have audiences on the edge of their seats through numerous tightly woven plot twists, the whodunnit creates endless suspense throughout, leaving audiences continuously guessing the ultimate ending.
Fresh off her highly successful direction of the 2023/24 tour of The Mousetrap and as the villainous Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked, Robyn Nevin AO, known for her experience in the mystery and horror genre, brings to life Christie’s work for the start of this tour once again with producer John Frost for Crossroads Live.
Unlike its counterpart, The Mousetrap, which unfolds in an old English country homestead, the ten unknowingly guests/victims of And Then There Were None are lured by an unknown person to the strikingly modern multiple-storied Art Deco home on Solider Island, off the coast of Devon, England.
Act One sees the arrival of the two hired staff and eight guests, and awkward introductions are made, while a recorded gramophone message plays accusations of murder for each. Hanging in the room is a poem, Ten Little Solider Boys, along with miniature statues that keep disappearing as the play continues, while the guests start falling victim to the demise of each soldier in the poem. Worry and tension amongst the group slowly changes to suspicion and accusations, leading to the final dramatic reveal.
Set design by Dale Ferguson creates a big, light, bright, and simple but stylish Art Deco-themed set. The indoor lounge room with large windows and a clifftop patio overlooking the ocean gives actors the ability to move around. Nevin uses clever direction in the space, so the sleight of hand manoeuvres necessary leave the audience baffled in suspense.
Ferguson’s costumes highly complement the set and period with men’s tailored suits and Deco-inspired dresses for the ladies. Sound Design by Paul Charlier, together with Lighting Design from Trudy Dalgleish, have the desired effect of psychological suspense, with flickering candlelight due to power failure from the storm (cue random thunder and lightning for extra effect) and a bright sunny day juxtaposing the sounds of death all around.
Initially written by Christie in three acts, over the years, it’s been rearranged into two. Act One sets up backstories or deception (depending on who you are) and feels like it finishes early at the first death right in front of them all.
However, the merging of Act Two and Three allows for the story to ramp up, and the remaining scene changes don’t impede the flow of suspense (or deaths!). The scene changes offer a break from the number of monologues and provide a quick minute to refocus on who might be the murderer.
And Then There Were None is presented as an ensemble piece; however, there are some standout performances. Mia Morrissey as Vera Claythorne and Tom Stokes as Philip Lombard built up a great chemistry of sexual tension and arrogance. Jennifer Flowers, as the elderly, moralistic (and let’s be honest, stuck-up) Emily Brent, is fabulous to watch, delivering a deliciously superior explanation of her guilt. It was an honour to watch the talent of Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich, The Sound of Music) take General MacKenzie on a slow descent into madness.
Niven’s version of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is a fabulously engrossing and engaging production. Whether this is your first experience of the brilliance of Christie’s work or you are an avid fan, this psychological murder mystery will thrill you to the ultimate end.
And Then There Were None runs until 23 March at the Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition Street Melbourne.
It then tours to Sydney from 3 May, Perth from 8 June, and Adelaide from 2 August.
Tickets: https://andthentherewerenone.com.au/tickets/melbourne/
Website: https://andthentherewerenone.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/andthentherewerenoneau/
Photo credits: Jeff Busby
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One response to “Review: And Then There Were None Brings Thrilling Suspense”
The audio was terrible. Most people in our row struggled to hear the dialect. We fed back to the ushers who said they had radioed through the concern. No change was made. 30 min in there was a break afsin we and others fed back the difficulty hearing the performance. We were informed that others had raised the same concern in previous performances but nothing had been changed to accommodate this. One of the audience members who was a sound engineer also stated it was too soft and it should have been elevated. We ended up leaving mid performance as between the poor acoustics and rapid pacing we couldnt we couldn’t follow what was happening. Really disappointing especially when it sounded like this was not the first time the acoustics issue had been raised!