Review – And Then There Were None
Reviewer - Gail Sjogren

‘Ten little actors’ make a great night’s entertainment

After the enormous success of BNT’s production of The Mouse Trap last year, here is another classic ‘who-dun-it’ to entertain audiences in the busy weeks leading up to Christmas.

And Then There Were None has all the hallmarks of Agatha Christie at her very best. Ten strangers, all hiding guilty secrets, are drawn together on an isolated island by strange invitations from someone whom none of them knows. There is no means of escape, thunder outside and mounting panic within, as one by one an unknown assailant picks them off.

The set is excellent and just confining enough to emphasize the isolation. The subject matter may be a bit grim but it is so unlikely that one cannot take it seriously. There is plenty of humour and of course the temptation to work out which of the ten is the murderer. Is it the doctor? He has the drugs after all. Or could it be the unlikeable moralistic lady who is always knitting? No sooner do we think we know than another twist throws us off the track again. It soon becomes a challenge for the audience to follow the nursery rhyme and work out who will be next to die and how their death will be accomplished.

In fact this is a thoroughly entertaining evening, watching a very experienced cast do what they do so well and clearly enjoy themselves. They are led by Hedley Thomson as the righteous judge, Brendan Bawden as a swashbuckling army captain, Martin McGettigan as an exCID detective and Liz Hardiman as a very glamorous secretary. There are delightful performances by Christine Holmes as the moralistic knitter and Tim Gay the insouciant younger man, with Michael Zala as the doctor, Janette Baxter and Tony McGuiness as the servants, and Barrie McCausland as an elderly general

This time of year can be stressful, so as Michael Zala’s character might prescribe, a night at the theatre enjoying a light-hearted who-dun-it may provide just the relaxation needed.