Agatha Christie never disappoints in delivering a great mystery and neither does Oyster Mill Playhouse's current production of her play, "And Then There Were None."

Originally titled "Ten Little Indians," the production at OMP is full of fun and thrills.  In typical Christie fashion, a group of strangers is invited to an isolated island under false pretenses.  Once there, guilty pasts are revealed and one by one the strangers meet a poetic death, courtesy of the nursery rhyme hung above the mantel.

Much praise belongs to director Alice Kirkland and director in training S. Patrick Wallen for assembling a fine cast and instilling the production with a careful balance of humor and suspense.  A nicely designed set by William and Stephen Jahn gives the actors a wonderful space to bring their characters to life.  Carefully chosen costumes by Joyce O'Donnell also add to the richness of the setting.

But I was bothered by two items in the technical area.  First, using one of the window curtains as a tablecloth for the bar seemed a bit lower class for an English mansion.  Second, as candles were used in Act 2, for the mandatory murder mystery power outage, there were inconsistent changes in lighting as the candles entered and exited the room.

However, the acting made up for these technicalities.  Jeffrey Nell absolutely commands the stage as Sir Lawrence Wargrave.  Lois Heagy brings spark and vitality to the old world morals of Emily Brent.  The comic relief is deftly delivered by Duane Baker as the nosy William Blore.  Other performances of note are Jack Eiber and Megan Seely with their characters' flirtations; Michael Guenther as the well-meaning physician; tearful reminiscences by John Jacobson; Vince Dangolovich as a spirited English lad; and that irrepressible English servitude, even under duress, from Paul Kanner, Marte Engle and Bob Sharkey.

It's fun to watch these characters exude that English charm of being eternally courteous to one another, even though you know someone among you is a murderer.  There were occasional jumps and gasps from the audience as the plot continued to twist and turn until the end.  Like a great magician's sleight of hand, this production offers much to watch and enjoy.