On February 13, I had the privilege of seeing Marc Robin’s latest production, “Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None,” at the Fulton Theatre. The creative works of Agatha Christie stand out as among the most popular novels of the 20th century and have enormously influenced the development of the murder mystery genre. In 1943, Christie adapted her novel “And Then There Were None,” giving it a lighter ending in which two of the ten primary characters survive. It is important to note that Robin directed a production based on this 1943 stage-adapted version of the novel—not the novel itself.
One must first give props to Joey Abramowicz (Fulton Casting Associate) for assembling a cast of talented and funny actors. Christie’s novel version of “And Then There Were None” is an exceptionally dark murder mystery, so I found myself pleasantly surprised to see that all of the actors in their individual turns made me laugh. Though all did quite well in this regard, Eddie Curry (Dr. Armstrong), Susan Cella (Emily Brent) and Jim Ballard (Sir Lawrence Wargrave) expertly wove in comedy to the strange personalities of their characters.
Robin certainly recognized the melodramatic legacy of Christie’s work and sought to utilize melodrama as comedic relief. While this focus certainly enabled worthwhile bits of comedy, it sometimes turned into bothersome oversaturation that somewhat took me out of the story. When directors expect melodramatic performances, it becomes hard to judge how naturally the actors fulfill their roles. I will therefore content myself to say that each cast member clearly showed an intellectual and physical commitment to their roles. So, if excessive melodrama could be identified as a plague for this production, I would think it unwise to blame the actors, who seemed so confident and prepared in their roles.
The issue of melodrama brings me to a review of the set design. William James Mohney (Scenic Designer) designed a beautiful and ingenious static set for the production. The set, which consists of two levels, features one tall room (including a bar, a fireplace, a staircase and a mezzanine) and an exterior balcony. The set captures well the aesthetic of a wealthy 20th-century mansion, including a bear rug, a suit of armor and bookshelves.
The plot unfolds in a mansion on a small, uninhabited island. To remind the audience of this island setting, Mohney and Colin Riebel (Video Designer) utilize a digital screen behind the exterior balcony. Though I typically do not appreciate the use of digital backgrounds, the employment of a screen behind the set really brought out the setting more than the interior set could. The screen also complemented the melodramatic acting of the characters with flashes of lightning and wild waves. Overall, I found the use of a digital screen in the set clever and disciplined. When Susan Cella delivers her monologue of religious ecstasy, and U.N. murders General Mackenzie, the screen becomes bright red, helping create a feeling of discomfort or even disgust for the audience member. I would argue that this use of color (and the accompanying music) worked incredibly well with regard to this purpose; I only wish that Robin had authorized more such scenes to bring out the melodrama through more than just the acting.
Of course, in commenting on this scene of unnerving red lighting, I already comment on the production’s lighting. But there is much more to discuss about the lighting than just this one scene. George Harrocks (Lighting Designer) and Megan Hibbard (Light Board Operator) use the lighting effectively to bring out the drama of the play. Several times, the lighting is dimmed to create a feeling of confusion and mystery essential to the genre, but this technique is only used a few times before being forgotten. I think that the production could benefit if this lighting strategy were more consistently used, but I also understand that such a suggestion necessitates problematically significant changes to the production as a whole.
Robin’s production of “Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None” is playing now at the Fulton and exits March 8. If murder mysteries are your thing, and you also love drama, go catch a showing before it exits. I give special thanks to the Fulton Theatre, Kevin Faraci, and Amalie Kinney. As always, support your local theatres!
Junior Charlie Burns is The Editorials Editor. His email is cburns1@fandm.edu.