Have a drink? Beware, it could be your final in Bowie Neighborhood Theatre’s And Then There Had been None. An opulent mansion on Soldier Island, off England’s Devon coast, guarantees its guests an expensive retreat. As an alternative, they discover themselves trapped in a homicide thriller.
Directed by Tatum Moss, Agatha Christie’s story gathers ten folks with distinct personalities and thoroughly guarded pasts in August 1939. A secretary, a stern socialite, and an anxious doctor are amongst these whose invitation turns into an indictment of previous wrongs. The manufacturing’s hanging design and strongest performances make this gathering price watching, although its suspense doesn’t at all times match its environment.
Set designer Dan Lavanga, working from Moss’ idea, and props designer and set dresser Roy Hammond create one of the fantastically detailed interiors I’ve encountered in a theater manufacturing. Patterned sofas, polished wooden, framed art work, and a well-appointed bar convey opulence. Open terrace doorways reveal a luminous sky glowing in reds and oranges. Costume designer Jeano Binney’s decisions really feel extra modern than distinctly late-Thirties, however they complement the manufacturing’s tone and stylish aesthetic.
As soon as the doorways shut, the welcoming room begins to really feel like a entice. Lighting designers Moss and the Bowie Playhouse employees shift the sky’s colours as time passes. Ceramic soldier collectible figurines organized beneath a framed nursery rhyme above the fireside flip ornament into warning. The set rewards shut consideration, making even its easiest comforts really feel suspect.
Moss’ blocking reinforces that unease. Standing characters circle and confront each other; seated exchanges invite uncomfortable confessions. Decreasing oneself right into a chair may imply reducing one’s defenses. As sound designer, Moss heightens the hazard with bells, forceful gunshots, and the ominous gramophone voice of Ryan Squires.
The strain between outward composure and hid ideas finds its strongest expression in Jeanne Louise’s Justice Lenore Wargrave. Returning to the play for a 3rd time, and in a distinct function than earlier than, Louise makes her familiarity with the fabric depend. Her calculated silences and attentive listening quietly command the room. What Wargrave withholds turns into as intriguing as what she says.
The place Louise attracts consideration via restraint, Brendan Cuddihee’s Captain Philip Lombard claims it with unapologetic bravado. His magnetic presence and clear supply give confrontations momentum. Jenny Ephrussi offers a agency counterpoint as Dr. Evelyn Armstrong, whose unraveling composure reveals an more and more pressing dedication to outlive.
Lombard additionally brings out a subtler aspect of Selah Holland’s Vera Claythorne. Her fleeting seems to be towards him recommend attraction and probably deeper emotions with out permitting both to dominate her efficiency. Bob Singer, in the meantime, provides Basic Mackenzie’s consideration to Vera an unsettling edge.
Humor briefly loosens the strain. Aparna Sri finds sharp comedy in Emily Brent’s severity, particularly when certainty provides option to real alarm. Vijay Dev brings heat and comedian buoyancy to Anthony Marston, whereas Gavin Proven turns Thomas Rogers’ disappointment over an anticipated tip from Inspector Blore into an amusing glimpse of resentment between the haves and the have-nots. Amy Heller’s Blore provides early comedian reduction, whereas Sara Worley makes Ethel Rogers’ need to depart palpable.
These partaking moments would carry larger weight with extra constant emotional element. Vera’s nervousness begins so intensely that later misery has little room to develop. Brent’s repeated knitting generally looks like an assigned job relatively than a pure behavior. Blore’s brisk supply and sometimes hard-to-follow accent obscure vital exchanges. Extra different reactions, clearer diction, and pauses after revelations would assist the viewers really feel the results of every new clue.
At two hours and 45 minutes, together with intermission, the night feels prolonged at the same time as particular person exchanges rush. The problem is to maintain momentum whereas giving concern, suspicion, and revelation time to register. Too usually, retaining observe of the thriller takes priority over turning into invested in its folks.
But a fleeting look, Wargrave’s watchful silence, or Brent’s sudden alarm can convey the human stakes sharply into focus. These moments present how far more this spectacular environment can maintain. We do not need to love these visitors to care about their fates. However because the room empties, we must always really feel that we’re dropping folks, not merely eliminating suspects.
Working Time: Two hours and 45 minutes, together with one 15-minute intermission.
And Then There Had been None performs via November 22, 2026 (Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.), introduced by Bowie Neighborhood Theatre on the Bowie Playhouse in White Marsh Park, 16500 White Marsh Park Dr., Bowie, MD. Buy tickets ($25 for adults and $20 for college students and seniors ages 62 and older, together with transaction charges) on-line, by cellphone on the BCT Hotline at 301-805-0219, or by e-mail (boxoffice@bctheatre.com) previous to the efficiency date.
Content material Advisory: Homicide, violence, gunshot sound results, and discussions of dying.
