And Then There Were None - UK Tour

From what I understand, that is very much the plan. 

Having directed it for a local Amdram company it is a good show to do but we did bring the action out of the living room when we could. There was a version at the Gielgud in the early 2000s which i think was a new adaption and that certainly tried to add more locations.

The Gielgud production was big- a rather elaborate set. Multiple locations. Sadly the okay itself was rubbish

This is my favourite Agatha Christie book so I'm looking forward to seeing it on stage. Will be interesting to see who is cast. I recently rewatched the brilliant BBC adaptation from a few years ago starring Aidan Turner and Charles Dance (amongst an overall very strong cast).

I have fond memories of playing the baddie in an amdram production many decades ago - so long ago it still had it's original name - it is certainly one of Christie's finest thrillers but, unfortunately, the changes to the plot made for the film and stage versions weaken it.

Recently there was a multi-episode French TV version of this called IIls Etaient Dix which I enjoyed because it was a complete updating set in present day France with an interesting choice of contemporary issues (from a French perspective) in the backstories. It is still available free on All4 I think. However, as above, once you know the twist it is very easy to spot even in this version which is very far from the original.

I saw the matinee today in Newcastle and enjoyed it very much. Very tense and atmospheric. As mentioned above, Mr and Mrs Rogers are now Georgina Rogers and Jane Pinchbeck. They are still the cook and butler at the house, no change to the backstory and it didn't seem to make much difference either way. Perhaps the change is to create more of a balance in male / female characters? A really good cast - I was particularly impressed with Joseph Beattie as Philip Lombard (who I recognised from the film Brideshead Revisited), Andrew Lancel as William Blore had great stage presence and Sophie Walter as Vera Claythorne (who reminded me a bit of Jessie Buckley). 4 stars from me and would highly recommend!

Thoroughly enjoyed this at Richmond last night.

I remembered the ending from the BBC adaptation but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment.

Four stars.

Lucy Bailey is a very good director who unusually amongst her peers doesn't confine herself to high art, although her Shakespeare productions are a match for theirs.

I had a bad week this week

The tiresome Confessions

The dreadful Lear

I was so looking forward to this

Not a patch on the WE staging either set wise or cast (and that was far from perfect but had a very memorable first death)

Unsure why we needed a gender swap to create a same sex relationship where one isn’t in the text

Very silly set with a dining room rammed at the back of the stage

Nothing about the execution of design evoked a house of the extravagant proportions described in the lines

The soldiers could hardly be seen

And the portrayal of the deaths lacked any shock or horror

Very flat for me, no tension and typical bad touring standard acting

Disappointing

Well I really hope I don’t feel the same as I’m seeing it tomorrow. To my amazement it’s practically sold out (unusual for plays in Sheffield), and because I didn’t book straight away I’ve got a rubbish (cheap) seat in the middle of the row, so if it isn’t very good I can’t sneak out.

Understandable that you would worry but honestly, I think it barely matters who wrote the source material (& would anyone guess or recognise the author's hand if they didn't know?); it's more about the treatment and production, the outing and having a good time. I think all the ingredients for this are there and combined well in my experience - and though this may have been matinee-specific, the audience at my performance definitely seemed enthusiastic and to be enjoying the whole trip back to the so-called Golden Age.

Saw this evening in Nottingham and loved it.
The first act has the heavy lifting of setting up the characters and their crimes they have been judged to be guilty of.
The second half just flies.

The ending is just fantastically staged.
Loved the set being so innovative for a touring play.

Pretty uniform good to excellent performances.

And loved the same sex couple that made no difference to the plot nor the characterisation. Even if the type of audience meant that their kiss was greeted by a ‘oooohhh’ in parts of the audience.

Loved the f bomb too !

After the positive reviews from board members about this tour and really enjoying the BBC adaption from 2015,  I saw that the Alexandra theatre were selling of single seats in the stalls for £25 so I took the opportunity to travel down to Birmingham to watch the Wednesday matinee. I have to say that I thought it was an excellent production from director Lucy Bailey and her team and was certainly well worth the ticket price and the travel time.

With the full cast on, I can't really fault them. All very watchable cast (Andrew Lancel alone was worth the ticket money) delivering plenty of tension and the twists and turns in Christie's classic story to full effect over the 2.5hrs. Act 2 for me was the stronger as the tension and violence was racked up compared to Act 1 which set up all the character's backstories. Despite knowing the ending, the way it was delivered on stage is still gave a powerful punch both emotionally and visually. The slight deviation with the butler / maid plotline from the original story really didn't make that much difference for me. 

A touring set from designer Mike Britton filled the stage nicely and allowed the cast to make maximum use of all the space available while the sound and lighting design from Elizabeth Purnell and Chris Davey respectively was also a great contribution to proceedings. 

Based on this viewing, I am hoping that the "Orient Express" tour later on this year will be just as good as this when  it comes up to the Lowry.

Rating - 4 stars