Theatre Review: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight …

That’s how the play on 3rd of November started – with this well-known poem transformed into a creepy song. If you read Agatha Christie’s novel you surely know what it is all about. If not, like me, then it’s all a surprise 🙂 A very nice surprise.

“And Then There Were None” (formerly named “Ten Little Niggers”) is one of the best selling novels written by Agatha Christie, with more than 100 million copies sold so far. In a nutshell, it tells the story of 10 people who were invited to an island by a mysterious host. As they start to get killed one by one, the tension increases and the murderer seems to get more and more wicked. Here’s a short video teaser to get the first feeling and also hear the creepy song:

What I found interesting, after watching the play, was that Agatha Christie herself wrote the text of the play in 1943. “And Then There Were None” was originally written as a novel. However, Agatha considered that the story was one of the best she wrote, so she adapted the story to a theatre play herself, changing some elements – including the ending.

Another interesting fact is that the play is directed by Ricard Reguant – a director very much appreciated by Agatha Christie’s grandson, Mathew Prichard. Actually, Mr. Reguant is the first director who was given the right by Agatha Christie Limited (ACL) to use the original ending for this story.

When it comes to my personal opinion – I enjoyed the play A LOT! On one hand, I liked the story – given that I did not read the story beforehand, the course of events itself was exciting. On the other hand, I particularly appreciated that even though the action happened in only one setting (the room you see in the picture above), the play was dynamic, having light and sound effects that added the entertaining and scary touches.

Overall I consider it is a very good theatrical production. If you live in Bucharest I recommend seeing it, it’s definitely worth it!

Before wrapping up this post I would like to thank my dear friend Roxi, who invited me to this play – thank you a lot! >:D<

How about you – do you go often to the theatre? What plays have you seen lately?

‘Till next time … happy theatre-ing! 🙂

Georgiana

Cover picture adapted from ZileSiNopti.ro. Video from Teatrul Avangardia.

PS: Some logistical details about the play – it took place at Teatrul Avangardia, Bucharest. The ticket was 70 lei/person (approx. 15 euro).

• Original name in Romanian: Si din 10 n-a mai ramas niciunul
• Director: Ricard Reguant
• Actors: Distributie: Ion Haiduc, Cristi Iacob, Alexandru Conovaru, Ioana Marcoiu, Serban Gomoi Camelia Pintilie, Andrei Mateiu, Victor Bucur, Dani Ionescu
• Translation: Irina Margareta Nistor
• Decor: Bogdan Amarfi
• Light Design: Dan Bujor
• Original music: Pep Sala