And Then There Were None at Richmond Theatre

Although I have never read any of her books, I have a bit of fondness for the works of Agatha Christie gained through listening to radio adaptations, of which there are many. That made And Then There Were None at Richmond Theatre a must see.

My usual seat had been sold so I went for the same position on the other side, Dress Circle A2, which was a very reasonable £26. Lots of other people bought tickets too and the show was sold out.

I had heard it on the radio not that long ago, probably less than a year, and while I could remember the main theme, and the main twist, I had forgotten most of the details and, most importantly, who did it.

The point of And Then There Were None is the story and I settled down to some unchallenging but entertaining theatre. The simple plot is that ten people have been tricked into a short break on an isolated island and one after another is killed until And Then There Were None.

Being character-light the ensemble cast was composed of relative unknowns which, as before, proved just how good less famous actors are. And being an ensemble it is a little unfair to pick any one actor out and Sophie Walter, as the school teacher Vera Claythorne, gets a mention possibly because she was one of the last to die and so was on stage for most of the evening but also because she was very good in the role bringing real drama to the piece as revelations about her past were revealed.

The staging was very good, being clever enough to cope with the various scenes and events while not being too clever to detract from the story. The only part that did not work for me was the very beginning where a not very legible recorded voice read out the letters that brought the ten together and that had no impact on my understanding or enjoyment.

Once again I was gripped by the story, one again I failed to guess the killer and once again I thoroughly enjoyed it.