And Then There Were None

Highbury Theatre. 23 September 2025.

By Agatha Christie. Director Emily White.

Who would accept an invitation from a couple they don’t know, to go to a mysterious island, for a house party, with people they’ve never met? That’s just asking for trouble as far as I’m concerned. And trouble is exactly what they get.

In this classic thriller from ‘The Queen of Crime’, ten people receive invitations to a party on the isolated Soldier Island, a place that can only be reached by boat. They find a framed copy of the old rhyme which starts “Ten little soldier boys” and counts them down one by one until “and then there were none”. It’s not long until they start suffering gruesome deaths, related to the rhyme and we find they each have a past. They start turning on one-another as they try to figure out who is killing them off. It’s a classic ‘whodunit’ and we’re left wondering until the very end. It’s certainly not as predictable as some of these stories can be and I was surprised when the culprit was revealed.

The set was a simple sitting room with 4 red chairs. This red note was picked up in the flashes of red in each character’s costume. I thought this was very well done. The short flight of stairs leading to the outside also worked well, as did the black and white check floor, which I felt gave us a hint of the game to come. It was easy to see how much thought had gone into the set design. This was very well done by Malcolm Robertshaw and Emily White. The costumes were well suited to the period setting and atmosphere, and the action and language were fitting for the period.

This was ensemble acting at its finest, but each member of the cast deserves mention.

Ron Parker gave a solid performance as Rogers, the butler. He had great chemistry with Ziona Smith as his wife, the long-suffering housekeeper, who gave us some wonderful moments of comic relief. Marston was the over-the-top playboy, full of his own importance. Ben White did a great job of making us dislike this character. Nathan McNaught gave a smarmy performance as the former CID detective William Blore, appearing in disguise, while he took it upon himself to ‘keep an eye on things’. Sean Mulkeen’s portrayal of the nervous, teetotal Dr Armstrong really made me sympathetic toward him, while Robyn Christoffel played the moralistic, judgmental, Christian, Emily Brent to perfection. There was nothing likeable about her character whatsoever. Patrick Mangan played the general really well. I felt quite sorry for him as he slid into madness. I couldn’t say the same for Sir Lawrence Wargrave, played perfectly by Ken Agnew. He took charge as he exercised the power he had always enjoyed in his career as a judge. I really felt for Vera Claythorne (played very ably by Isobel Clinton). She was determined to do her best in the role of secretary, even though she had never met her employer. Starting out calm and efficient, her slide into terror was very

well done. I very much enjoyed her chemistry with Nick Morris’ adventurer, Captain Philip Lombard. His outrageous flirting didn’t get him anywhere but that didn’t stop him trying and I have to say, I found him quite likeable. Andrew Leigh-Dugmore was totally believable in his role of Fred, the boatman, and I was sad we didn’t see more of him.

Sound and lighting were excellent and worked really well. We heard howling winds, crashing waves and clashing thunder, courtesy of Richard Irons, and Andrew Noakes gave us candlelight, torches and lightning.

The piece was directed by Emily White, who did an amazing job in her first foray into directing. She decided to keep the original 1939 ending of the play. A good idea, I think. It was enjoyable and I’m sure Mrs Christie would be happy with it. I’m looking forward to seeing more from this director.

Now, do excuse me while I go and find the candles and make sure all the doors are locked.

Reviewed by Lesley L.