"Black Coffee"

August 2, 2022 — "Black Coffee" was British novelist Agatha Christie's first effort written for the stage, produced in 1930. The Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth, New Hampshire, is currently presenting it, one of many Christie plays they have staged over their 92 years. Blair Hundertmark directed this excellent production. Rachel Rose Burke designed the sumptuous British parlor in which all the action takes place, and Alison Pugh was responsible for the costumes, perfect for the period.

The cast of twelve included some of the Barnstormers' finest veteran actors and a few equally impressive talents we haven't seen before. To summarize, Sir Claud Amory (Bob Bates) has discovered his formula for an explosive has been stolen from his safe. He calls Hercule Poirot (Steve Barkhimer), Christie's famous detective who appears in many of her plays and novels. Sir Claud then gathers his sister Caroline (the always delightful Vinette Cotter), his son Richard (Neil Redfield) and Richard's Italian wife Lucia (Miyuki Miyagi), niece Barbara (Lisa Joyce, a big hit with the audience for her scene-stealing turn in the second act), secretary Edward Raynor (well-played, a bit on the sleazy side, by Robert St. Laurence) and the Italian Dr. Carelli (long-time Barnstormers favorite Doug Shapiro), an old friend of Lucia. The very refined John Schnatterly had the small but no less important role of Tredwell the butler.

As Lucia serves coffee, Sir Claud demands a cup before anyone else is served, complains that it's  bitter, then announces to the assembled group that all lights will be turned off briefly. If whoever took the envelope containing his formula places it on the table, no further action will be taken. If it is not returned, Sir Claud will take steps to find and prosecute the thief.

The lights go out, plunging the room into total darkness, there are a few screams, a thud or two, but when the lights come back on, the envelope is on the table, no one appears to have moved, and Sir Claud is still seated where he was, but motionless with eyes closed. When he fails to respond, Dr. Carelli examines him and declares him dead!

Detective Poirot arrives with Captain Arthur Hastings (John Long). Most of the group believes Sir Claud died of natural causes. Poirot isn't willing to take that for granted and takes a sample of the remains in Sir Claud's coffee cup. Later, Dr. Graham (Will Johnston) confirms the sample contains poison and that was the cause of Sir Claud's death.

Now the investigation begins in the best of Dame Agatha's style, with red herrings aplenty confusing the audience. The envelope returned to the table when the lights were out was empty. There was a duplicate key to Sir Claud's safe. It's revealed Lucia's mother was an international spy. Lucia claims Carelli was blackmailing her. She admits she once contemplated suicide. Does any of this have anything to do with the crime? There's even a confession which proves false. Where do we go from here? Inspector Japp (Lee Hollis Bussie), a take-charge kind of guy, arrives. In true Christie fashion, the perpetrator isn't revealed until the final minutes and it's not necessarily someone you may have suspected.

I've seen several Agathe Christie plays at The Barnstormers. No theater does them better. "Black Coffee" was new to me, and it didn't disappoint.