And Then There Were None

PLAY ON WORDS, a study guide, has been prepared by the production dramaturg and is available without charge at the concessions booth in the theatre lobby. Please silence all pagers, cell phones, and watch alarms. As a courtesy to the actors and those around you, do not text or instant message during the performance. FROM THE DRAMATURG Human nature has always had a fascination with solving puzzles. Our natural curiosity and problem-solving abilities have led to the many innovations that have brought about our world today. But no one has held more fascination with finding the logical solution to baffling mysteries than Dame Agatha Christie. Known for being the best-selling novelist and most highly regarded mystery writer, Christie’s books, eighty-three in all, each came about as the solution to a different puzzle. And Then There Were None was birthed out of both a nursery rhyme and the need to conceptualize it without becoming ridiculous or obvious. Yet, as with all of Agatha Christie’s stories, the solution can be found by the observant reader or, in this case, audience member. Christie knew that if the deduction was to be rational, the characters must be rational, so she left clues and hints that would point to one person — the true perpetrator of the crimes. See if you can pick up on these clues to find the guilty party. Or, just sit back, relax, and let the mystery unfold before you! — Matthew Glenn , Dramaturg