And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
21st-26th September 2015
The Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
21st-26th September 2015
The first thing that strikes me as I enter the foyer of The Palace Theatre is just how crowded it is. It’s a miserable, cold, rainy Monday night and yet the world and his wife seem to have battled the elements to see this play.
Now, usually when one has a good old murder mystery to review, one finds oneself amongst a rather, shall we say, ‘mature’ audience. However, on this occasion there would appear to be quite a wide spectrum of age groups; although if the truth be told I would estimate that there were a fair few ladies of a certain age who, I would suspect, were quite possibly fans of a certain Paul Nicholas, BAFTA award winning star of tv’s Just Good Friends and Bust, who plays Sir Lawrence Wargrave; not to mention Colin Buchanan, probably best known for his role as Peter Pascoe in Dalziel and Pascoe, who gives a fine performance as the unshakeable William Blore. Throw in Mark (actually says Mary in the programme…might want to change that) Wynter, who originally made his debut as a recording artist back in the day, giving us such hits as 'Venus in Blue Jeans' and 'Go Away Little Girl', the ladies of the audience are more than accommodated for.
Men fear not, for the wonderful Deborah Grant, best known for appearing in Bergerac, Peak Practice and as Wendy in Not Going Out, plays the role of the acerbic Emily Brent who could quite easily step into Dame Maggie’s shoes with such cutting lines as "Young people these days are full of familiarity, christian names and cocktails" - if only Downton Abbey had another series! Bring on the gorgeous Kezia Burrows as the deliciously delectable secretary Vera Claythorne and pretty much everyone is catered for. Thus ensues our anticipation for a fabulously 'wizard' evening and, let me tell you, with such a star studded cast you won’t be disappointed.
Now, usually when one has a good old murder mystery to review, one finds oneself amongst a rather, shall we say, ‘mature’ audience. However, on this occasion there would appear to be quite a wide spectrum of age groups; although if the truth be told I would estimate that there were a fair few ladies of a certain age who, I would suspect, were quite possibly fans of a certain Paul Nicholas, BAFTA award winning star of tv’s Just Good Friends and Bust, who plays Sir Lawrence Wargrave; not to mention Colin Buchanan, probably best known for his role as Peter Pascoe in Dalziel and Pascoe, who gives a fine performance as the unshakeable William Blore. Throw in Mark (actually says Mary in the programme…might want to change that) Wynter, who originally made his debut as a recording artist back in the day, giving us such hits as 'Venus in Blue Jeans' and 'Go Away Little Girl', the ladies of the audience are more than accommodated for.
Men fear not, for the wonderful Deborah Grant, best known for appearing in Bergerac, Peak Practice and as Wendy in Not Going Out, plays the role of the acerbic Emily Brent who could quite easily step into Dame Maggie’s shoes with such cutting lines as "Young people these days are full of familiarity, christian names and cocktails" - if only Downton Abbey had another series! Bring on the gorgeous Kezia Burrows as the deliciously delectable secretary Vera Claythorne and pretty much everyone is catered for. Thus ensues our anticipation for a fabulously 'wizard' evening and, let me tell you, with such a star studded cast you won’t be disappointed.
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Agatha Christie always seems to be a failsafe draw for an audience despite the fact that a lot of her plays now seem somewhat rather dated. Director, Joe Harmston, has done a great job of attempting to stay faithful to the author and yet has allowed the cast to perhaps go a little over the top in places in order to draw out the humour that some of the dialogue inevitably encounters. In the wrong hands this could go terribly wrong but with such fine performances from this outstanding cast, Ms Christie’s words are given complete justice.
I’m sure that most people will be familiar with the storyline of this play; 10 people are invited to a large house on an island off the Devonshire coast and one by one are bumped off. Saying any more would obviously be giving away the plot but suffice to say that despite knowing what may be coming, the tension and suspense of the piece is kept to the fore with lots of clever lighting and sound effects all contained within the setting of the living room of the house with its impressive art deco style. |
There were great performances from all the cast but I particularly enjoyed Eric Carte as the rather bewildered General Mackenzie, with some lovely comedy touches, Ben Nealon as the cocky Philip Lombard and Mark Curry as Rogers as the affable Butler - again another familiar face to those of us of a certain age who will remember him as one of the Blue Peter team from 1986 to 1990. Kezia Burrows pretty much steals the show with her fabulous delivery and equally fabulous costumes.
Producer, Bill Kenwright, is exclusively licensed by Agatha Christie Ltd to tour the UK with the original stage plays of the best selling fiction author of all time. And Then There Were None is the twelfth production from the Company and judging from the audience's reaction on the opening night, this is undoubtedly proving a great success. Grab your tickets quick and see if you can work out who’s to blame in this, one of the most famous whodunnits of all time.
www.southendtheatres.org.uk
Producer, Bill Kenwright, is exclusively licensed by Agatha Christie Ltd to tour the UK with the original stage plays of the best selling fiction author of all time. And Then There Were None is the twelfth production from the Company and judging from the audience's reaction on the opening night, this is undoubtedly proving a great success. Grab your tickets quick and see if you can work out who’s to blame in this, one of the most famous whodunnits of all time.
www.southendtheatres.org.uk
What the audience thought
Christine, Billericay
“I usually only go to see musicals. This is the first drama that I’ve been to see. To be honest I prefer musicals but this really kept my attention and I was always wondering what was going to happen next and it really kept me guessing till the end. Vera Claythorne (Kezia Burrows) really stood out for me!”
Christine, Billericay
“I usually only go to see musicals. This is the first drama that I’ve been to see. To be honest I prefer musicals but this really kept my attention and I was always wondering what was going to happen next and it really kept me guessing till the end. Vera Claythorne (Kezia Burrows) really stood out for me!”
Heather, Wickford
“I really enjoyed it. I saw the original in the West End when I was a teenager and I have to say that I enjoyed it just as much tonight as I did then. Vera was really good and Sir Lawrence (Paul Nicholas). It was a really enjoyable evening.”
“I really enjoyed it. I saw the original in the West End when I was a teenager and I have to say that I enjoyed it just as much tonight as I did then. Vera was really good and Sir Lawrence (Paul Nicholas). It was a really enjoyable evening.”