To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Agatha Christie Theatre Company, Bill Kenwright, by special arrangement with Agatha Christie Limited, presents And Then There Were None, starring BAFTA-nominated stage and screen star Paul Nicholas, at the Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells from Monday 12th to Saturday 17th October.
The show tells the tale of a group of ten strangers who are lured to a remote island off the coast of Devon. Upon arrival it is discovered that their host, an eccentric millionaire, is missing… Stranded on the island by a torrential storm and haunted by an ancient nursery rhyme, one by one the guests begin to die – With only the fallen believed to be innocent who amongst them is the killer?
In a rare interview with the show’s star, Paul Nicholas, the first question he was asked was – What attracted you to the part?
I think it was the fact I would be playing a judge, playing a character that’s got a bit more weight than I would normally be seen to play. It’s not a musical, I don’t have to sing. People can tend to put you in a pigeon-hole, you know, “he’s a singer that means he can’t do drama” but the very nature of what actors do means that they should be able to do more than one thing, and they can, they’re so adaptable!
And you and Bill Kenwright go back, I presume?
Oh yes, I worked with him on a few things. I did Stagestruck with him, and Tale of Two Cities, which I brought to him, and a couple of other things. You see, Bill’s great because he’s kept a lot of actors in a lot of work over a long, long period. And he’s quite a loyal guy, he’ll come back to the same actors.
How have you prepared for your role, are you basing him on anyone?
My old man was a lawyer and when I was quite young, about 16, I ran around serving writs on people. So I would show up, say, “This is for you”, and run away! And a couple of times I was asked to represent the solicitors in court, and sit there just in case they asked for the defendant’s solicitor, which, thankfully, they never did. So there is that element but my old man wasn’t pompous or anything like that, he was a showbusiness lawyer. But it is quite nice to be playing something I’ve never really done before.
Without giving too much away, for those who may not know the story, he’s a very significant character to the plot – is this something you bring to him from the start?
He’s the judge so therefore I suppose he’s viewed as a slightly more serious, older man – which, as you can tell, means I’m completely typecast (laughs).
It’s an eight-month tour of the UK – how do you find being on the road?
I’m used to it. I haven’t toured for a while though, to be honest. It’s not me singing, or walking on wires or juggling or anything like that but you do need to exercise the brain as you get older, so this is quite a challenge for me all round, really.
You’ve had a pretty amazing career on stage, on TV, in the charts – what have been your career highlights?
I did Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972 and was cast as Jesus having been in Hair. That was my first job and Jesus was my second, and it’s been downhill ever since (laughs). No, I’ve had some good jobs, like Just Good Friends, I even had a couple of hit records in the Seventies, not because I wanted to be a pop singer, I just wanted to have a hit record! I had a few hits, it was lightweight and fun but it wasn’t me, it was me doing my impression of a pop star trying to have a hit record. I never gigged or anything, I just did Top of the Pops and made a few records.
And Then There Were None, starring Paul Nicholas, Colin Buchanan from Dalziel and Pascoe, Deborah Grant who starred in Not Going Out, Peak Practice and Bergerac, TV favourite Mark Curry and Ben Nealon, from ITV’s award winning Soldier Soldier appears at the Assembly Hall Theatre from Monday 12th to Saturday 17th October with evening performances at 7.30pm and matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets, priced from£23.50 – £28.50, can be booked through the box office on 01892 530613 or online on www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk