‘And Then There Were None’
T en different individuals will go missing at a mysterious house party, when two weeks from now Cold Theatre 7 presents ‘And Then There Were None’, the timeless mystery masterpiece by Agatha Christie.
The cast of Cold Theatre 7 Pic by Indika Handuwala
The Christie original was first published in Britain, a good seven decades ago and continues to hold sway over readers as one of the greatest mystery novels ever written. Eight people, all strangers to each other, are invited to an Island off the English coast. When they arrive on the island the guests are greeted by the butler and housekeeper who report that the host, one ‘Mr. Owen’, will not arrive until the next day.
That evening they are gathered in the drawing room when they hear a recorded voice accusing each of them of a specific murder committed in the past and never uncovered. They compare notes and realise that none of them-including the housekeeper-actually know of this mysterious Mr. Owen. Paranoia sets in when the guests realise the island is eerily blocked off from the mainland due to bad weather and the numbers rapidly dwindle as murder and mayhem ensues.
The play is directed by Kevin Cruze who has been involved in local theatre for almost a decade – ever since he left St. Joseph’s College as a fresh faced young theatre enthusiast. Cold Theatre 7, an ensemble of theatre personalities in Sri Lanka, is his brainchild. Last year they produced ‘Lankawe Twins Kalabala’, a comedy that went down well with local audiences.
The director decided to do something different this time around with drama and suspense and says it’s a little easier than putting on a comedy, actually. He will tell you that it’s a herculean task making people laugh, but even this play is not entirely without its moments-except this is a darker, more sinister form of comedy.
Kevin stumbled across the story while he was looking for a script for this year’s production; funnily enough he’s not much of a reader, so he hadn’t actually read the novel before. But he did read the version adapted for the stage and was immediately intrigued. “I was on the edge of my seat.”
He’s quick to add that it’s fantastic working with such a diverse cast. The production brings together a variety of stage personalities from different spectrums; Sachintha Dias, Anuk De Silva, Dulika Jayamanne, Chrishan Silva, Dino Corea, Kavitha Gunasekara, Liza De Jong, Shehan Wijemanne, Irandi Gunaratne, Enrico Silva, Shenelka DeSilva, Piyumi Sumanesekara and Rooshith Ranasinghe will take on main roles in the production. The show will also feature the Old Joes Choir, directed by Geethika Cooray and composer Hirushan Maddumarachchi.
The play will have three different endings during its run. One is from the book, the other is based on the script and the last is Kevin’s own interpretation. Only the first weekend of November will tell which wins the most-macabre contest!
And Then There Were None, a production by Cold Theatre 7 will be staged on November 1-3 at the British School Auditorium. For early bird tickets email coldtheatre7@gmail.com.
Meet the cast in next week’s Mirror Magazine.
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