[Background: our community theater is replacing The Rocky Horror Show with the “safe” production And Then There Were None. Knowing a bit about the show’s very un-woke background I asked Google to detail same. The results are below.]
The original British title "Ten Little Niggers" came first, and the offensive rhyme was indeed performed under that exact title in the original British stage and book versions. [1, 2]
Title History
- The First Title: Agatha Christie’s original 1939 novel—and her 1943 stage play adaptation—was titled and performed in the UK as Ten Little Niggers, named after the 19th-century minstrel song that acts as a central plot device.
- The US Change: When the book was published in the United States in 1940, the title was changed immediately to And Then There Were None because the original was considered unacceptably racist for American audiences. [2, 3]
- Ten Little Indians: The title Ten Little Indians (derived from an American variant of the minstrel song) was later used for various US editions and alternative stage productions starting around the mid-20th century, before And Then There Were None became the universally standard title.
The Rhyme in the British Version
- Performed as Written: Yes, the rhyme and the central plot elements in the original British book and the 1943 West End play explicitly used the original offensive title and lyrics. [1, 2]
- Later Changes: The UK continued using the original book title until 1985. Over subsequent decades, theatrical and film versions transitioned to using "Indians," and later "Soldiers" or "Sailors" to eliminate the slurs for modern audiences. [4, 5, 6, 7]
[7] https://www.britannica.com
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