author: Chris Pence
The Worshipper: The Hollow at Laurel Mill Playhouse
Love is murder, though who’s the killer? The Queen of Mystery reigns supreme as Laurel Mill Playhouse presents Agatha Christie’s The Hollow, a weekend romp through the countryside that brings love, lust, intrigue, and murder. Produced by Laurel Mill’s own Queen of Mystery, Maureen Rogers, The Hollow is one of Christie’s lesser-known stories, though it still packs all the same classic twists and turns that made Christie one of the world’s most famous writers.
Set in September 1953, The Hollow follows the guests of Sir Henry Angkatell as they spend a weekend in the countryside, looking to rekindle lost romances. Relationships are strained and love triangles emerge among the guests. The weekend takes a strange turn, as Christie’s tales often do, as one of Angkatell’s guests becomes a victim of a gruesome murder. Now the guests must search their feelings to determine whodunnit. Was it the devoted spouse? One of the side pieces? Did the butler do it? Or maybe the estate owners, looking to keep their family connections intact? Based on the 1946 book of the same name, The Hollow was adapted by Dame Agatha herself, premiering in February 1951 in Cambridge, before a successful London run attended by Christie herself.
Director Larry Simmons does the Dame of Death justice with this production, which is a bit more melodramatic than most of Christie’s works, with love taking centerstage as the main motive. Nevertheless, Simmons skillfully blends the melodrama with realism and levity to fully wring from the characters their full dramatic potential. The cast could use a little more definition with their characters’ accents, but their characterization more than makes up for it.
Setting the stage for murder, Set Designers Larry Simmons and Mark T. Allen embrace minimalism in favor of drama. Set in the garden room of Sir Henry Angkatell’s house, Simmons’ and Allen’s set feels like an English bed and breakfast, with pale green walls, basic set pieces, and a working fireplace. At upstage center, an alcove gives a sense of fanciness to the Angkatells’ home, revealing behind a pair of folding doors a lattice full of plants, quintessential for a romantic weekend in rural England.
Completing the scenery is Costumer Marge McGugan, whose designs add to the characterization with proper, character-driven clothing. Each actor has multiple costume changes, as the guests relax upon their arrival, dress for dinner, participate in activities around the estate, and attend the inspector’s inquiry following the murder. Highlights include a flashy sequined sari, worn by love-starved film star Veronica, and a suit and tie befitting a used car salesman for sleazeball John.
As the owner of the estate, Sir Henry Angkatell, K.C.B (Lenny Dinerman) is as dry as a glass of poisoned sherry. His weekend is all about business. Dinerman is a British Red Foreman, voicing his distaste for the situation with deadpan one-liners and a seriousness about the murder that makes the audience think twice before suspecting him. Henry’s wife, Lady Lucy Angkatell (Maureen Rogers) is the polar opposite of Henry, a crazy, forgetful old lady, who misses her childhood home in Ainswick. Rogers provides a majority of the levity of the show, portraying Lucy battier than Dracula’s castle. Lucy’s ridiculousness includes absconding with a dinner lobster, rocking the phone receiver like a baby, and debating which sandwiches were appropriate to serve to the investigators during the murder investigation. As uproarious as her antics are, Lucy still has a few secrets up her sleeve, though she might not have remembered she put them there. Lucy’s motives are as deadly as any, leading the audience to debate whether her lunacy is genuine, or just an act to conceal her true intentions. Together, Dinerman and Rogers are the ideal hosts for the weekend and could even be the perfect team to host the murder.
Midge Harvey (Ashley Densel), Henry’s niece, is youth personified. Her innocence is palpable as she pines for Edward (Gary Brick), despite Edward’s lure toward Henrietta. Straightlaced and proper, Edward hates John for his attraction to Henrietta. Densel and Brick are a flawless pair, each reaching out for another’s affections as they ignore their feelings for each other.
No good romantic weekend is complete without a love triangle, and Christie creates a web of love that is rivalled by no other. At the center of the web is John Cristow (Sanjeev Dev), a snotty doctor who hates his patients, instead focusing on his interest in disease. Dev’s John is a disease all his own, a rude, insulting lothario who can’t help but infect many of the female guests with lust. Dev is an understated Johnny Bravo, spending the weekend confronted with his own past sexual indiscretions. Dev makes John’s weekend intentions clear, embracing his lingering feelings for Henrietta and dodging advances from Veronica, all the while treating his wife Gerda more like a servant than a lover. His performance completely justifies Edward’s hatred for John, placing him precisely in everyone’s crosshairs.
Henry’s younger cousin, Henrietta Angkatell (Lexi Kay), is an artist, sculptor, and victim of John’s unrequited love. Her dedication to John leads her to envy Gerda for her marriage to John. Kay portrays Henrietta with an artistic flair befitting the lovelorn sculptress, doing her best to keep her elicit relationship with John hidden in her friendship with Gerda. Henrietta’s unseen sculpture, for which Gerda modelled, seals this emotional confusion. Kay’s adept performance ignites Henrietta’s passion, with well-deserved anxiety, making Henrietta quick to accuse others once the murder occurs. Could this all be just an attempt to deflect suspicion from herself?
Gerda Cristow (Selah Holland), John’s long-suffering wife, clearly wants to be anywhere but The Hollow. Naïve and over-supportive, Holland’s Gerda is the personification of sadness, watching helplessly as John sows the seeds of lost love. Holland’s unflinching reaction to John’s admission that he married her because she wasn’t his definition of beauty is a testament to how long Gerda has been suffering at John’s hands. Gerda’s performance as a victim of shock following the murder is superb, and her emotional control of her character is immaculate.
As film actress Veronica Craye, Leena Dev is a diva who is used to getting what she wants. Her dedication to John is much akin to Miss Piggy’s dedication to Kermit, with her dropping not-so-subtle hints while he dodges her every insistence. Flashy and over-the-top, Dev places Craye at the top of the suspect list with impassioned threats toward her unwilling devotee. True-life spouses, Sanjeev and Leena Dev work well together to bring to life John and Veronica’s unstable relationship.
Jack Wibbe’s Gudgeon, the Angkatell Family’s butler, is a devoted though resentful member of the servant class. His faithful attention to the family is matched only by his concern that he’ll never get the respect he deserves, choosing to hold back some information in favor of keeping his job. His mentee Doris (Jaila Desper), doesn’t share Gudgeon’s views. The young maid’s admission late in the second act leads the family to question Gudgeon’s faithfulness. Wibbe and Desper perform expertly as foil characters, giving much more reality to the domestic characters than most productions do. So, did the butler do it? Or maybe the maid is telling tales?
Though the original novel included Christie’s most famous character, Detective Hercule Poirot, Christie elected to remove Poirot from the narrative in favor of Inspector Colquohoun (Mark T. Allen) and Det. Sgt Penny (Vijay Dev). Though the inspector and detective don’t have quite as much involvement in the story as Poirot typically does, Allen and Dev serve as narrators in the investigation, laying out the facts and clues cleanly, and allowing the guests to drive the narrative. Allen’s presence as Inspector Colquohoun casts an imposing shadow on the events, while Dev’s reactions to the suspects and circumstances mirror those which the audience should be feeling. The two are impeccable at surrendering the spotlight, serving proficiently as functional members of the narrative.
Love and murder, lust and accusation, relationships and betrayals, audiences can find it all in Laurel Mill Playhouse’s production of The Hollow.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission
The Hollow plays through November 16th 2025 2025 at Laurel Mill Playhouse— in the heart of historic Laurel at 508 Main Street in Laurel, MD. Tickets should be purchased in advance (though walk-ins are welcome!) and are available by calling the box office at 301-617-9906 or through the ticketing website online.
To view the full program for The Hollow, click here.