The oldest English theatre group in India, the Madras Players presented a play based on Agatha Christie’s popular novel, And Then There Were None, directed by its youngest director, Tanvi Patel. This was held from September 12 to 14 in the Government Museum Theatre, Egmore.
As you enter the 19th century theatre, you are taken back in time with its Italian-style architecture. The seats are full and the atmosphere is bubbling with excitement and expectation. Many have read Agatha Christie’s novel and are waiting to see it’s adaptation on stage. When the play starts, the audience becomes quiet and everybody looks onto the stage. A creepy tune plays in the background as a creepy voice starts off the play.
Ten people with apparently no connection are brought to a house on an island and each accused of murder. Just as they recover from that, one of them drops dead on the floor. Every moment after that keeps the audience in rapt attention as everybody begins to suspect each other. The people keep dying one by one as they keep wondering. Now and then, some subtle humour sets the audience into a wave of polite laughter. The climax scene approaches fast and the play ends just as fast and the audience is shocked.
The audience is satisfied and some are even delighted at seeing such a gripping mystery portrayed on the stage. As the actors are introduced, everybody claps and the applause for some popular actors is more than the others. The old British-style costumes help set the mood and the costume designer does get a round of applause.
Gopika is an Economics graduate on the outside, and a writer on the inside. She used to be a student reporter for YOCee which she says, gave her the kickstart to move on to writing with her university magazine – The Context, an online news website called the Bastion, and become a peer tutor at the University Writing Centre, Her post-lockdown plan currently is to do her two-year fellowship with Teach for India