Ten strangers are lured to a solitary mansion off the coast of Devon. When a terrible storm cuts them off from the mainland, and with their hosts mysteriously absent, the true reason for their presence on the island becomes horribly clear, as secrets from their past come back to haunt each and every one of them.
This brand-new production has been reinvented for the 21st century, directed by the renowned Lucy Bailey (Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution – now in its 6th successful year and Love From A Stranger; Dial M for Murder; Baby Doll; Titus Andronicus and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). Adapting this, the best selling crime novel ever and Agatha Christie's most popular work, Lucy Bailey ha given us the chance to again revel in the marvel that is the Christie construct; crime, secrets and the human condition.
In typical Christie style, the story and plot begin most benignly; each of the guests are shown to their rooms, in which a framed copy of an old rhyme hangs, and on the dining room table sit ten figurines. After supper, a phonograph record is played; the recording accuses each visitor of having committed murder, then asks if any of the "prisoners at the bar" wishes to offer a defence.
The guests soon discover that none of them know the hosts, and none of them can understand what, if anything, they have in common with the others. Sadly Mr Marston on finishing his drink promptly dies of cyanide poisoning, confirmed by Dr Armstrong who also deduces that there was no cyanide in the other drinks and therefore Marston must have dosed himself.
The following day more mystery and panic ensues as one by one another xxx guests are found dead and so the Christie methods begin to draw the audience into the questions of who, why and how. (Fans of the original story, or the rhyme which gave Christie the idea, will already have a few ideas as to the how - each death follows the demise of one of the subjects in the origin). Of course, no one is actually innocent; all guests have dark secrets which they are hiding, secrets which become more publicly known just before their untimely demise.
Whilst there have been a number of film adaptations of this classic Christie crime caper, and many other that cite it as their inspiration (Clue, an episode of Family Guy, even Saw) it is most definitely on stage where it gives its greatest delivery; drawing you into the claustrophobic world until you start to doubt ourself, perhaps you're the murderer after all.
The full cast are
Bob Barrett (Holby City, Propeller West End and UK Tour) - Doctor Armstrong,
Joseph Beattie (Hex and Silent Witness) - Philip Lombard,
Oliver Clayton (The Play That Goes Wrong) - Anthony Marston,
Jeffery Kissoon (National Theatre and Complicite, Allelujah!) - General Mackenzie,
Andrew Lancel (National tours, West End and Coronation Street) - William Blore,
Nicola May-Taylor (Rutherford And Son) - Jane Pinchbeck,
Katy Stephens (RSC, Globe and London’s Burning) - Emily Brent,
Lucy Tregear (The Country Wife) - Georgina Rogers,
Sophie Walter (The Girl On The Train) - Vera Claythorne,
Matt Weyland (Witness For The Prosecution) - Narracott/Understudy, and
David Yelland (Poirot, Foyle’s War and The Crown) - Judge Wargrave.