Review: And Then There Were None at Newcastle Theatre Royal

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And Then There Were None

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Until 1^st August 2015 and then on tour

Agatha Christie wrote And Then There Were Nonein 1939 and shortly afterwards she adapted it for the stage. It is deservedly regarded as a whodunit masterpiece. Through her craft as a storyteller she is able to quickly introduce the eight new arrivals on the island off the Devon coast. They are welcomed to the amazing house on the island by the butler Rogers and his wife Ethel. As a production, this show works because each actor is believable in their part without being over the top. The beauty of having ten people in the house is that there are more suspects than a game of Cluedo. The two intervals buzz with theories being discussed by the audience. In short: a quality murder mystery. 

Photo: Pamela Raith

Adorning the Theatre Royal stage was a star studded cast, each holding their own. Emmerdale’s Verity Rushworth plays the young and competent secretary Vera Claythorne. She is joined by Emmerdale Farm (as it was called back then) legend Frazer Hines as the professional butler Rogers. Joining them are Jesus Christ Superstar/Just Good Friends star Paul Nicholas as the high court judge Sir Lawrence Wargrave and Dalziel and Pascoe’s Colin Buchanan. Blue Peter’s Mark Curry plays Dr Armstrong. The magic of this production is that their past is immediately forgotten as they feel very natural in this new role.

Photo: Pamela Raith

The play has its lighter moments, largely through the strong acting and characterisation. For example Anthony Marston is a young boy racer. His carefree attitude to life gave Paul Hassall a number of laughs. The dialogue he was given was straight out of Enid Blyton’s “Famous Five” at times but that is in keeping with the 1930s era of the source.

Photo: Pamela Raith

Sometimes a murder mystery starts to drag after the murder, as the characters squabble and claim their innocence for the best part of an hour, but that is not the case here. With 9 people to murder there is plenty of activity on stage. After each death the audience either have to change their guess or nod knowingly. When the big reveal happens there is a loud gasp from the stalls but that doesn’t stop the chorus “I knew it at the start” as they file out. How honest are the audience? I admit it – I was wrong!  

Photo: Pamela Raith

The lighting design by Douglas Kuhrt is worth mentioning as it created a real atmosphere in one of the final scenes as the set was candlelit. The huge shadows helped the tension. Director Joe Harmston makes good use of the single room and experienced cast to keep the action flowing..

Along with Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee, And Then There Were None is a super evening’s entertainment. The combination of cunning storyline and strong acting produces a delightful show.

This review was written by Stephen Oliver  the North East Theatre Guide Preview from Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo

On The Web:

Website: http://www.kenwright.com/index.php?id=1452

Read the original preview from North East Theatre Guide here:

Tickets:

Photo: Pamela Raith

And Then There Were None appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Monday 27 July – Saturday 1 August 2015. Tickets from £14.50 (pay 50p less per ticket when you book online). Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Preview: And Then There Were None at Newcastle Theatre Royal

THRILLING THEATRE ROYAL AUDIENCES WITH QUEEN OF CRIME’S BEST-SELLER

And Then There Were None

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Monday 27 July – Saturday 1 August 2015

The world’s best-selling mystery is coming to Newcastle Theatre Royal! Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None has recorded 100 million sales to date and the ‘Queen of Crime’s’ own stage adaptation of this dark and captivating tale is set to thrill audiences from Monday 27^th July – 1^st August 2015.

And Then There Were None is widely considered to be Christie’s masterpiece and this production marks the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s birth, and the 10th anniversary of the Agatha Christie Theatre Company.

Photo: Pamela Raith

A group of 10 strangers is lured to a remote island off the coast of Devon. Upon arrival they discover that their host, an eccentric millionaire, is missing. At dinner a recorded message is played accusing each of them in turn of having a guilty secret and by the end of the evening the 10 guests become nine. Stranded on the island by a torrential storm and haunted by an ancient nursery rhyme, one by one the guests begin to die. And with only the fallen believed to be innocent who amongst them is the killer?

Featuring a host of familiar faces from the world of TV and theatre, the show stars 2015 British Soap Award winner Verity Rushworth, best known for her role as Donna Windsor-Dingle in the long-running ITV soap Emmerdale. Verity won the ‘Best Scene’ award for the scene where Donna says goodbye to her daughter April. And Verity is no stranger to the stage having made her West Enddebut as Penny Pingleton in the musical Hairsprayand later she played Maria Von Trapp in the UK tour of The Sound of Music, taking over the role from Connie Fisher.

Photo: Pamela Raith

Verity is joined by fellow Emmerdale veteran Frazer Hines, who played Joe Sugden in the soap for 22 years from the pilot episode in 1972. Many will also recognise Frazer as Dr Who’s Jamie McCrimmon, companion to the second Doctor Patrick Troughton. Frazer’s theatre experience includes starring roles in Outside Edge, Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Spider’s Web, Not Now Darling, Doctor in the House, in which he played opposite Bill Kenwright, Run for your Wife, Wait Until Dark and Far From the Madding Crowd. 

Musical Theatre star Paul Nicholas first made his name in the original London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, in which he played the title role and later went on to star in Hair and Grease in the West End with Elaine Paige. Paul will also be known to many as Vince Pinner in the 80s BBC sitcom Just Good Friends.

Photo: Pamela Raith

Colin Buchanan, best known for playing D.I Pascoe for eleven years in the hit BBC television series Dalziel and Pascoe, joins the cast off the back of starring in a UK tour of another Bill Kenwright production, J.B Priestley’s Dangerous Corner.

Susan Penhaligon is probably best known for starring in the 1976 ITV drama Bouquet of Barbed Wire and for playing Judi Dench's sister in the 1981 LWT sitcom A Fine Romance. She has also appeared on TV many times in dramas such as Upstairs Downstairs, Casualty and Touch of Frost and her extensive West End theatre credits include The Three Sisters,  Of Mice and Men (Mermaid) and Dangerous Corner (Whitehall Theatre).

Photo: Pamela Raith

Mark Curry is best known to children of the Eighties as one of the Blue Peter presenters as well as hosting Get Set for Summer, The Saturday Picture Show and Screen Test. His acting credits include Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone, London’s Burning, and West End shows The Woman in Black, Talent and he toured with Noises Off and Singin’ In The Rain.

Ben Nealon is best known for his role as 2nd Lt/Lt/Capt Jeremy Forsythe in the ITV award winning series Soldier Soldier. His previous work for Bill Kenwright includes The Signal Man (Windsor) and the Passport For Pimlico tour. His TV credits include Casualty, The Bill, EastEnders and Doctors, and film roles include the Bollywood blockbusters The Rising and the Oscar-nominated Lagaan.

Photo: Pamela Raith

As The Agatha Christie Theatre Company marks its 10th anniversary with this production of And Then There Were None, the interest and adoration for the great Dame Christie - who having sold over two billion books worldwide is outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare - continues to grow.

This production of And Then There Were None is produced by Bill Kenwright, with Joe Harmston directing, design by Simon Scullion, lighting by Douglas Kuhrt and sound by Matt Bugg.

Tickets:

And Then There Were None appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Monday 27 July – Saturday 1 August 2015. Tickets from £14.50 (pay 50p less per ticket when you book online). Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

And why not tempt yourself with Afternoon Tea after the matinees on Thu 30 July and Sat 1 Aug? Served in our exclusive Olivier Suite and accompanied by one of our pianists, you can treat yourself for £14.95 per person or upgrade to Afternoon Tea with Prosecco for £20.90. Book via the Box Office or online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk/whats-on/afternoon-tea