And late scene changes are made by murdered guests who glide in zombie fashion across a dimly lit stage. A creepy butler injects humor into the Gothic mystery. Bright rose and cerulean blue lighting contrast day and night. Hitchens keeps surprising you with his invention. Wrenching memories of past crimes flicker across the screens with haunting background music. As tension builds, the more troubled of the guilty guests have horrific nightmares.
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The most dramatic devices are the two movie screens flanking center stage. Director Josh Hitchens grips your attention all night with his imaginative presentation of the Agatha Christie classic. "I cannot remember seeing a play more dramatically staged than the revival of And Then There Were None now running at Allens Lane Theater. This production is not just scary, it's also thought provoking, as Christie originally intended it to be." Hitchens' unnerving vision of And Then There Were None leaves us pondering the effects of guilt and remorselessness, the nature of justice and punishment, and above all, who should hold the authority to render the ultimate judgement of our crimes. Kenneth Jordan's lighting, sound, and video designs further serve to set the eerie tone, with some scenes illuminated blood red or performed in near darkness with the startling noise of gunshots, stormy weather, and creepy background music that underscores the tension and through gripping, and often manic, visual projections that probe the disturbed minds and recollections of the killers. He also stages the removal of the bodies and the change of scenes with a cleverly macabre device that will leave your hair raised and your spine tingling. Hitchens' penchant for suspense and terror is evident in the show's measured pacing, punctioned by sudden frights, blood-curdling screams, and unexpected appearances to which we can't help but react, even if we know the story well.
And he does that by restoring the author's original ending and honoring its impactful intent, rather than using the less horrific conclusion. "Director Josh Hitchens not only presents the mystery, but also heightens the mood and highlights the message of Agatha Christie's all-time bestselling novel (over 100 million copies) of 1939.
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