Review: Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE at Ottawa Little Theatre

“Ten little soldier boys went out to dine…”

The world’s favourite Agatha Christie mystery, And Then There Were None, opened this week at Ottawa Little Theatre. Ten people have gathered on Soldier Island, ostensibly to attend a party, despite having no former acquaintance with each other or their hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Owen. Ten little figurines are visible on the mantlepiece, and a framed nursery rhyme is mounted above the fireplace, with each little soldier boy meeting a dastardly end:

“… one choked his little self, and then there were nine.”

The audience is immersed into the story’s atmosphere immediately upon entering the theatre, thanks to brilliant projection and sound design by Lindsay Laviolette; the stage is overlaid with a translucent projection of crashing waves, and the sound of the sea and the cry of seagulls fill the air.

The play opens with Mr. and Mrs. Rogers (Matthew Ramsden and Victoria Windrem) the Owens’ butler and cook, preparing to receive the guests, who are about to arrive on the island by boat.

We then slowly meet each guest as they arrive. This is deliberate, so that the audience becomes familiar with each one, given the importance of all ten characters. Vera Claythorne (Lindsay Laviolette), the Owens’ new secretary, and Philip Lombard (Christian Giansante) arrive first. It is clear that Lombard is instantly infatuated with Claythorne. The rest of the guests trickle in: Anthony Marston (Eoghan O’Kelly), William Blore (Jarrod Chambers), General MacKenzie (Ian Stauffer), Emily Brent (Ann Scholberg), Sir Lawrence Wargrave (Bob Hicks), and Doctor Armstrong (Guy Newsham).

Just before the party sits down to dinner, a disembodied voice is heard, and each person is accused of having committed a terrible crime. Not long after, the first victim collapses and dies exactly as set out in the nursery rhyme. With the next boat only arriving in the morning and no other way off the island, the nine remaining people must figure out who “U.N. Owen” is to avoid becoming the next little soldier boy to die.

The staging is beautiful (designed by Venetia Lawless and Grace Solman), set up as a realistic living room, with a brick fireplace and a windowed back wall and double doors leading to a balcony with a railing that runs the width of the stage, reinforcing the imagery of the house being high up in the sky and completely isolated. Director Venetia Lawless ensures that the stage isn’t overcrowded and cleverly incorporates off stage areas, like the kitchen, dining room and guest rooms into the story to allow the actors to come and go at any given time. The projection design over the balcony helps extend the stage, but some of the storm effects could have been more realistic. A number of significant events take place out of the audience’s line of sight, which is much less impactful than if they had occurred on stage, but it is impossible to achieve with this stage design.

All the actors do a great job bringing each character to life (and/or death - sorry, I couldn't resist). The accent coaches (Ian Fraser, Liza Westwood, and Helen Rossiter) deserve special praise. I have seldom seen a community theatre production where the accents rarely falter. Windrem and Laviolette did a particularly convincing job in this regard.

To delve any deeper into the plot would ruin the mystery for those who have not read the book nor seen the film or television adaptations. Despite the book’s popularity (it has sold over 100 million copies), a large swath of people did not know the story’s outcome in advance. I was surprised when the audience let out a collective gasp as “U.N. Owen’s” identity was revealed.

The ending will differ, depending which night you choose to attend the show. Ottawa Little Theatre is not only performing the classic 1943 version of And Then There Were None, but on two nights, May 13th and May 20th, audiences can experience a version of the play featuring a new ending commissioned by the Agatha Christie estate, which more closely resembles the book’s darker finale.

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