REVIEW: And Then There Were None at Stourbridge Town Hall (Thursday, April 6)

AMATEUR theatre is alive and well in Stourbridge – something that cannot be said for the characters in the town’s theatre company’s latest production, writes Dan Sharp.

Ten strangers receive a mysterious invite to a dinner party on an isolated island somewhere in Devon, and one by one their various sordid pasts catch up with them, until there were – as the title suggests – no one remaining.

Before I continue however, I have to admit that I have never read Agatha Christie’s iconic ‘masterpiece’, but even I knew how the story was about to play out.

As well as the original best-selling novel, I hadn’t even seen a prior version of the ending-altered play, but from the multitude of film and TV show parodies I knew there would be twists and turns – and plenty of murder – I just didn’t know whodunit*!

It has been a very long time since I’ve been to an amateur production, but as a former child actor I have great affinity to local theatre.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I took my seat in the balcony of the town hall, but I am so happy to report that the Stourbridge Theatre Company cast kept me hooked until the very last gunshot.

Led by the commanding performances of Graham Moffit, Dan Price and Mark Stanley, who all shone in their roles as Wargrave, Blore and Captain Lombard respectively, the cast were a joy to watch.

Richard Delahaye’s performance as a dithering Doctor Armstrong was one of my personal favourites, while Shelly Blakemore – in her debut performance for the group as Vera Claymore – fit in to the ensemble seamlessly.

Together with the great use of music, scenery and props, there was much to enjoy in my first soiree back into am dram.

The only negative I could give the show was that the first half did drag on slightly too long.

I can only put that down to introductions of the characters, one by one. It was a bit like watching the first episode of Big Brother as one after another a new person enters through the front door and is greeted with the same lines and handshakes.

But once the beaming voice of accusation came from the gramophone, the action started – leading to a thrilling second act.

Tickets to the show, which will be performed at 7.30pm tonight (Friday, April 7) and tomorrow (Saturday, April 8) costs £10 for adults and £8 for concessions and can be bought at The French Deli, in Coventry Street, or by calling 0333 666 3366 or visiting www.stourbridgetheatre.co.uk.

*Despite not knowing who the killer was, I thought I’d give it a guess once all the characters were finally introduced. I gave myself a mental high-five when it turned out that I had picked the right one!