In her play "Towards Zero," famed mystery writer
Agatha Christie has Thomas Royde, an English gentleman, expound
a theory of murder that the audience can only assume is the playwright’s
own. Murders, says Royde, begin long before they are actually
perpetrated and advance step by step toward that "zero hour."
With this theory in mind, Christie uses the first act of "Towards
Zero" to set the stage for the murder, and the second act
to solve it – with mixed results.
"Towards Zero," which Gerald Verner and Christie adapted
from Christie’s book, was first presented by Peter Saunders at
the St. James Theatre in London, in September 1956. But unlike
other Christie dramas such as "Witness for the Prosecution,"
"Death on the Nile" and, most notably, "The Mousetrap,"
which opened in 1957 and is still playing to packed houses on
London’s West End, "Towards Zero" has not enjoyed a
long life span.
This season, the Heights Players, searching for a less frequently
performed Christie drama, has revived this little-known play
and is presenting it under the direction of John Bourne, who
is something of a Christie expert, having already directed "The
Mousetrap," "Spider’s Web" and "Murder on
the Nile."
Although it takes Christie the entire first act to kill off her
victim, most audiences will bear with the play’s glacial movement.
After all, this is an Agatha Christie play, and we all know what
that means. What’s more, Christie drops so many clues with the
subtlety of nuclear bombs that only the comatose wouldn’t realize
someone is going to be done in.
Nevile Strange (Sean Guerin) has invited both his first wife,
Audrey (Maya Novak), and his second wife, Kay (Lana Faye Taradash),
to spend the weekend at the home of his former guardian, Lady
Camilla Tresillian (Marilyn Beck). If this isn’t enough to make
the sparks fly (or the poison flow or the bludgeon swing), Thomas
Royde (Tom Levy) – who is somewhat in love with Audrey and can’t
stand Nevile – having returned from an extended stay in Malaysia,
is spending the weekend on the Tresillian estate, as is the family
solicitor, the thoughtful Mathew Treves (John Downing).
Of course, Lady Tresillian has her devoted, self-sacrificing
(and therefore obviously suspect) companion, Mary Aldin (Lois
Look). And Kay has her own suitor, an upstart named Ted Latimer
(Fabio Taliercio).
Other tips include the obligatory thunderstorm, a locked garden
gate, a noisy quarrel overheard by everyone, and a tired character
so anxious to get to bed it seems she may fall asleep onstage.
Bill Wood has designed a country home perfect down to the smallest
detail – with a terrace, fireplace, hanging plants, birdcage
and wicker furniture. The only problem is that the furniture
has been arranged such that for long periods the actors face
the back of the stage – in the one direction where the three-sided
theater faces no audience.
Perhaps in an effort to make an essentially static drawing room
murder move, Bourne has blocked the action so that characters
are frequently seen striding back and forth across the room for
no apparent reason other than to change their seat. The result
is a kind of musical chairs in which at least half the players
are facing the wrong way.
American actors, with their American accents, are always at a
disadvantage with an English play. This problem is exacerbated
with English mystery writers like Christie who considered it
unacceptable to murder anyone who did not have, or was not married
to someone who had, a seat in the House of Lords.
Neither Guerin nor Taliercio project the careless elegance of
an English gentleman; they are both far too earnest and unsophisticated.
Levy, who may be trying to sound cold and proper, ends up sounding
bored.
Only Downing walks into his role like Cinderella stepping into
her glass slipper. He seems totally comfortable in Lady Tresillian’s
house and totally believable as a trusted friend of the family.
The distaff side of the play does much better.
Taradash, with her dark hair and flaming red dress, has the sharp
tongue and flashing eyes of our favorite bad girls. Is she bad
enough to do in her dastardly husband when he appears ready to
take back his first wife?
Novak, a demure blonde, wears a beige dress and a sweet smile
we suspect is hiding something. Beck and Look are two veterans
who know how to make their presence felt on stage.
Once Christie produces a murder, the play takes off. Thomas Tyler
as Superintendent Battle walks into the scene and takes over
like a Brooklyn cop who just happened to be in the area. If this
wasn’t exactly what Dame Agatha had in mind, Tyler injects enough
energy into the role to make even Scotland Yard forgive his aberrant
accent.
Besides, now Christie’s trademark twists and turns take over
and everyone in the audience is too busy trying to cull the culprits
from the red herrings to care about such trifles as how someone
pronounces "ladies and gentlemen."
"Towards Zero" is definitely not topnotch Christie,
but being a Christie, it still deserves a place somewhere at
the top of the mystery genre. Trying to figure out whodunit in
a Christie mystery is like trying to get out of a maze when the
walls keep moving. If you like the challenge, you’ll love "Towards
Zero."
"Towards Zero" plays through
March 17, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm. Tickets
are $12, seniors and students $10. The Heights Players theater
is located at 26 Willow Place between Joralemon and State streets
in Brooklyn Heights. For reservations, call (718) 237-2752.
