On Friday the 30th November I was lucky enough to go and watch ‘And Then There Were None’.
From the start, the Imperial College Dramsoc production of Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ was gripping. The production directed by Olivia Revans and Ansh Bhatnagar made excellent use of sound effects and did lots of innovative things with physical theatre.
Whilst the acting was generally enjoyable, I’d like to single out Olivia Revans’ performance as Vera Claythorne. Not only was her performance one of the most impressive and enjoyable but she was filling in for the original Vera (Nan Fletcher-Lloyd) who was absent due to injury. She performed the role incredibly well and was extremely engaging to watch.
The cast manage to carry the text quite well, they hit the dramatic points with aid of an excellent light and sound plot. The ‘shockingly realistic’ practical effects are also help make the play extremely immersive. The costumes are also excellent and helped to show character personality and time period effectively. There is no doubt in my mind that the piece wouldn’t have been as good were it not for the excellent technical team.
Of course no production is without faults and I feel as though the pacing could have been a little more even. However this didn’t prevent any enjoyment.
The trouble with doing a well known production is that it often feels like everything has been done before. This production managed to avoid the pitfalls by adding new, engaging elements (such as physical theatre) whilst also staying true to the story.
I spoke with Ansh Bhatnagar about what he thought and he commented that he was “Relieved it went well, glad it went according to plan. I’m really proud of my cast, my crew and especially my co-director.”
It truly was a brilliant performance.
