And then there was … Agatha Christie. The theatre season is upon us, and with it comes the debut of Christie’s And Then There Were None, one of the great archetypal whodunnits.
The tale unfolds as a disparate collection of guests arrive at a luxurious mansion on a deserted island.
Each has been invited under a different pretext, yet none — including the newly-appointed staff — has met their mysterious host.
During dinner, a recorded voice accuses each guest of having been responsible for someone’s death in the past, crimes for which they escaped legal punishment.
Soon after, one of the guests dies suddenly. The death is soon followed by another. Those left standing realise they are being killed off one by one.
As panic and suspicion grow, the group understands that the killer must be one of them — because no one else is on the island. Trust breaks down, alliances form and dissolve, and paranoia intensifies as the body count rises.
Finally, an explanation arrives, courtesy of one of Christie’s most famous and chilling twists.
Directed by Dublin Parker, the setting remains true to the original time period of the story, but with at least one subtle contemporary update.
“Agatha Christine was a visionary author, and I’m honoured to have the chance to bring her work to life on the stage. Many things have changed since 1930, but the heart of this story remain the same, and our actors have put their own hearts and souls into bringing it to our amazing city,” explains Parker.
“The biggest change that I have chosen to make is to include more female roles to give women a greater spotlight on stage,” she notes.
As with all Phnom Penh Players productions, proceeds from the show will support a local charity.
In collaboration with the Russian Center of Science and Culture, this show run will support the English Education Center for Community (EECFC) in Siem Reap.
Now in operation for over 17 years, the EECFC provides free education to children from disadvantaged rural communities.
The performance sees the players return to one of Phnom Penh’s grand old dames, the Russian Center of Science and Culture. A 160-seat raked theatre, the foyer’s Soviet-era décor, replete with portraits of heroic cosmonauts, was worth the price of admission alone the last time The Post visited.
Shows are scheduled for Friday and Saturday over the next two weekends, March 13-14 and 20-21. Doors open 6.30pm, curtain at 7. Tickets are $10.50, and available via all Phnom Penh Players social media channels.
Not just the largest selling fiction author of all time, Agatha Christie was also a mad keen surfer. And Then There Were None could just be the perfect left-hand point break of culture the capital needs.
