Review: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE at South Shore Theatre Experience

With exuberant dramatic tension and ballroom fluidity in blocking, the South Shore Theatre Experience’s production of “And Then There Were None” was filled with tension, retribution, and an impressive number of blood packets.

Director Emily Vaeth’s vision for the seaside Agatha Christie murder mystery classic was both a harsh light and a quiet candle flicker into the world of the characters who are both running away from their murderous past and murder victim present.

Stage Manager and Lighting & Sound Designer, Thaddeus Plezia gave a cinematographer’s dream of mood on the static stage. The bright lights that greeted the guests as they disembarked off the boat to the island mansion gave the feeling of being too welcoming and implying a trap. A later scene where candles provide the only light was especially interesting from a technical standpoint as the unreliable spotlighting of a flame obscuring and highlighting facial expressions added to the mystery of the piece.

Costume Designer Janine Loesch individualized the characters with a close reading of the script that added subtext in the garments. Of particular note was distinguishing Captain Lombard and playboy racecar driver Marston in light and dark pinstripes that boldly stated the peacock nature of the two, but the difference in the air and track bravado the men respectively played in and dominated.

Alexa Roosevelt as Vera Claythorne captured the sweeping character arc with such precision and physicality. From her flirty, ingenue impression walking into the mansion cat-like with Lombard to the final scene where she literally convulses and loses her humanity.

John McGowan as Phillip Lombard, the disgraced ace pilot, played the cockiness of the character deliciously with a reoccurring mouth puckering and tongue out. His shoulders held with the broadness of a cartoon superhero, McGowan gave us a portrait of a man unashamed of his past but still with his actual capabilities in sight.

Michael J. Shanahan as Thomas Rogers, the devoted servant, affected a meager and mewling persona that only got more shriveled as the events unfolded. Shanahan’s tear-jerking portrayal of classism and PTSD after a tragic family occurrence was painfully beautiful.

Kevin Russo as Dr. Edward Armstrong was such a raw nerve of a person, he could have been killed off with a tap on the shoulder. Russo’s hunched shoulders, ever-widening prey eyes, and general anxiety was maddening and also brought out the nurturing side of the audience. Russo had excellent voicework and diction for his Armstrong as he maintained full control of the intonations even with the rapid speech and alternating volume of the character.

The entire cast worked intensely well with one another and had a fluidity that Agatha Christie’s prose is known for encapsulating. The rhythm and the explosive moments seemed naturally heightened and the physical confrontations had the right assembly of brute force and choreography.

With the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s death, the revival of one of her most popular works confirms the mastery of storytelling she had that has endured.

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