Ten Little Indians

Who knew Agatha Christie mysteries could be so good in play form? I had to read this for Drama class, so I wrote a report on it. I really don't feel like writing a whole other summary and review for this story out of the book of her plays I have, so I'll just copy my report here. Be prepared for longness... just skip ahead to the sections you want to read.

Alison L.
Mr. Finch
Drama 1
28 August 2009
Title of Play: Ten Little Indians
Characters: There are ten main characters in this play. One unique thing in this play is that every main character has been accused, directly or indirectly, of killing someone before we see them in the story. We first meet Rogers, the housekeeper for the unknown Mr. Owen on the island. He and his wife, Mrs. Rogers, take care of the house and the grounds. Mrs. Rogers is the chef. Together they have been rumored to kill off their previous employer. Next appears Vera Claythorne, a young lady in her mid-twenties who used to be a governess. Her previous charge drowned while in her watch. Vera’s love interest is Philip Lombard, a thirty-something traveler who finds Vera attractive and wants to get to know her better. He was accused of killing a bunch of people in Africa “on accident.” The next character doesn’t really stand out in the story because he’s the first to leave it. His name is Anthony Marston and he somehow led to the death of two people. Then comes William Blore, an unimaginative man that, throughout the story, is revealed as a pathological liar. He “brought about the death” of a person, too. General Mackenzie is another who does not particularly stand out. The only thing interesting about him is that the person he killed was his wife’s lover, and he did it almost completely on purpose. Emily Brent is the next person, and she inadvertently killed a teenage girl who was pregnant. She scolded the poor girl so much that the girl went and drowned herself in the pond, which gives you an idea of how strongly Ms. Brent feels about her ideals. Sir Lawrence Wargrave is a judge who has sentenced death to many a criminal that perhaps shouldn’t have died. He is strict, and very judgmental, being a judge. Lastly there is Dr. Armstrong. He is a doctor but more importantly an alcoholic. He killed a person in the middle of surgery because of his drinking problem, and now he’s trying to recover.
Scenic Requirements: The main scenes take place in the sitting room. To perform the play you’d need a bar, many windows along the wall facing the audience that look out on the sea, two sofas in the middle of the room and chairs around the room with one bookcase somewhere on stage left. By the fireplace there should be a tapestry with the Ten Little Indians nursery rhymes written on it, and on the mantle there should be ten Indian statues sort of clustered together. There is a door stage left (by windows) leading to the dining room, a door down stage left that leads to the hall, and a balcony that is part of the set with presumable steps leading down from the balcony. All in all it’s a pretty easy set to put up, and there’s not major special effects that would be costly or difficult to reproduce. Some lighting for dramatic effect would be nice at the climatic parts.
Plot Summary: Eight people make their way to this island, all of them supposedly invited by U. N. Owen. (The other two, the Rogers couple, were there previously.) None of them have actually met this Owen, but they come anyway. They get to know one another before dinner, but then comes the shock. Rogers puts on a record and a disembodied voice comes on accusing them all of murder in some form. They all realize they have arrived on the island for judgment.
The first one to die is Marston. He dies like the first rhyme in the tapestry, by choking while drinking. This is when the remaining characters start to get scared. The next day they awake to discover Mrs. Rogers has passed away in her sleep, just like the second Indian to die in the tapestry. They also notice the little Indian statues on top of the fireplace are disappearing one by one, just like they seem to be doing. That day a lot of people die in accordance with the tapestry’s rhymes: General Mackenzie dies from a blow to the back of the head, Rogers gets killed by ax while chopping wood, Emily Brent is injected with cyanide (modern bee sting). This leaves five little Indians: Blore, Justice Wargrave, Dr. Armstrong, Vera, and Lombard. They are all getting increasingly nervous, and they have long since realized the murderer has to be one of them. Next Wargrave dies, dressed up like a judge on his own judgment day in a terrifyingly ironic fashion. Then Blore dies, crushed by a bear clock (like being eaten by a bear in the poem), and Dr. Armstrong is found drowned on the cliffs outside the house. Vera and Lombard realize they’re the only two left, and therefore one of them is the murderer. Vera finds Lombard’s pistol and shoots him with it; he collapses over backwards. Then Wargrave (yes, the thought-to-be-dead one) emerges from the other room and confesses how it was all his plan: stage the perfect murder in perfect irony, taking nine lives, and ending with Vera hanging herself. He gets Vera’s head in the noose when Lombard sits back up, grabs his pistol, and shoots Wargrave dead. Uttering a remark about how he’s thankful girls can’ shoot straight, he goes up to Vera and proposes to her; and so the story ends.
Personal Reaction: I loved this play. I originally read the book by Agatha Christie first, and that was good, but this offered a more in-depth understanding of how the characters feel and think during the plot. This was a very thrilling mystery, because you never knew who might go next. Also, there was never a point where I could tell who the actual murderer might be. It looked like it could be anyone, from Vera to Rogers. This was a very surprising, very intense play to read, and I’m sure it would be even better to watch.
Overall Recommendation: Although I loved reading this play, I would not suggest VMHS performing it. Why? There are just too many characters. Say you’re sitting there for two hours, watching this play. You have to keep track of ten characters, what they’re saying, how they’re acting, and keep track of who dies. All the characters are of equal importance, so you have to pay attention to everything. To me, that doesn’t seem like enough time to actually enjoy the play, and let the suspense build. It just wouldn’t be as enjoyable to the audience, at least not in my opinion. All in all, though, this was a pretty good play.

Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.