KARACHI: Anyone who has read any of Agatha Christie’s books must be familiar with And Then There Were None. It is a fascinating read and arguably the best illustration of the author’s genius in weaving suspenseful twists into a story that seemingly has fewer convoluted aspects than expected.

The play put up by Drama Queen Productions at T2F on Friday night was a successful attempt at refreshing the memories of Christie’s admirers that how good a mystery writer she was, primarily because the venue isn’t spacious enough to allow actors the kind of freedom of movement that’s required for such a presentation. But for that, the producer of the drama, Sarah Saifi, has an answer: “It’s an immersive play.”

And Then There Were None, directed by Arman Tejani and Ahmed Agloria, tells the tale of 10 people who don’t know one another, eight of whom — General Mackenzie (Faraz Rafiq), Dr Ella Armstrong (Momina Qadri), Emily Brent (Sabiha Zia), William Henry Blore (Yogeshwar Karera), Captain Philip Lombard (Ahmed Agloria), Anthony Marston (Ammar Sohail Javed), Vera Claythorne (Komal Ahmed) and Lawrence Wargrave (Naveed Kamal) — are invited to a large mansion-like house on an island by a certain Mr U.N. Owen.

The other two persons are Thomas (Ali Hashmi) and Ethel Rogers (Mahpara Qadri), the butler and housekeeper, respectively, who receive the guests. It turns out the Rogers have never met their employers Mr and Mrs Owen — nor has any of the invitees.

A successful attempt at refreshing the memories of Agatha Christie’s admirers that how good a writer she was

Not too long into the play, all of them hear a record. An imposing voice tells, rather accuses each one of them of the wrongs that they had committed. This sends a wave of fear across the room where the guests and the servants are gathered. Then, as they’re trying to figure out the person behind the voice, the young and playful Anthony Marston, while having a drink, dies from poisoning. This enhances the fear manifold.

They can sense that it’s only the first of them who has been killed; the rest will meet the same fate.

And Then There Were None has quite a bit going in its favour. The directors do their best in keeping the suspense and tension stay at a degree that the 90-minute production needs. Again, the smallness of the venue is a bit of a handicap, but the inventiveness with which the climax (no spoilers here) is staged indicates that Tejani and Agloria are acutely aware of the issue and want to use it in the best possible way.

All the actors do a fine job, and this is no tactful comment. Yes, since it was their first performance on Friday, they were a trifle nervous because of which most of them were saying their lines way too quickly, especially in heated moments when screaming and shouting was happening, making it hard to pick what they were up to. It is important for actors to make their lines heard loud and clear by the audience. Also, once the doors to T2F are shut, no one should be allowed to step in.

Prior to the theatrical act, rock band E-Sharp played a few songs, including Shabana. They were impressive. If only the audience had been a little more receptive. …

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2019