Agatha Christie delights in planting extremely funny dialogue within the investigation of a murder. We find that, while everybody loves everybody else, there are those who consider many of the others with absolutely no regard. The Hollow is set in the fall of 1951, at the Angkatell estate, a mere 18 miles south of London.
Sir Henry Angkatell (Alex Sandie) and Lady Angkatell (Ashley Gardner) are entertaining friends and family. Henrietta Angkatell (Angelique Collas), a young and beautiful sculptress rounds out the resident Angkatells. The staff include butler Gudgeon (William Savage) and Maid Doris (Christina Christianson). The guests, cousin Midge Harvey (Carolyn Wheat Koenig), Edward Angkatell (Frank Godinez), and young doctor John Cristow and his wife Gerda (Jeffrey Lippold and Jody E. Hooper). A neighbor, Veronica Craye (Chrissy Burns), visits. The law is represented by Inspector Colquhoun (Martin M. White) and Detective Sergeant Penny (Marcus Allen Correia).
The plot thickens when it is revealed that Dr. Cristow has sown his seed with at least two of the young ladies. Alas, he's dead at the end of Act I. Veronica had been his lover in the past, Henrietta was his current mistress, and, of course, his wife knew nothing of this. Christie, as is her penchant, has made just about everybody look guilty.
Ashley Gardner is a delightfully scatterbrained, not-quite-with-reality Lady Angkatell. She garnered most (though not all) the laughs. White, the Inspector, has absolute command, not only of the stage, but of his character. With a flick of an eyebrow he says as much as paragraphs of dialogue.
Chrissy Burns, as the brassy Hollywood-starlet-in-training, Veronica, is always dressed to kill, and she has the motive to kill, too. We yearned to see more of her.
