Writer: Agatha Christie
Directors: Ian Talbot and Denise Silvey
Amongst theatrical warhorses The Mousetrap can claim not only to be one of the most famous but also the longest-running. Written originally as a radio play titled Three Blind Mice, The Mousetrap opened in London’s West End in 1952 starring Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim. This tour celebrates, (apart from closing briefly during the Global Pandemic), The Mousetrap playing uninterrupted in the West End for over seventy years.
Derided for several decades for appearing to be out of date, wooden, and melodramatic, the play has in recent times been rediscovered, helped by this anniversary tour and similar productions in Australia and the USA. The play is now regarded to be an excellent example of its type and a theatrical must-see. In keeping with its Fifties period setting and the trends of the day, the play, suitably for a whodunnit takes place in a remote, snow-bound guesthouse thirty miles away from London. Snowed in at Monkswell Manor are a motley group of characters including an Army Major, a retired female magistrate, and a neurotic young man. Could one of these be a murderer? As with all good murder mysteries not all the characters are what they appear to be and who they say they are. In true whodunnit fashion all the guests are accused of complicity and murder.
The play begins with a radio newscast announcing the violent murder of a married woman in London. In quick succession, four guests arrive at the guesthouse run by a young couple Giles and Mollie Ralston. The first, Christopher Wren is a hyperactive young man who is soon joined by Major Metcalf, the elderly, cantankerous Mrs Boyle, and the stand-offish Miss Casewell. A fifth guest Mr Paravicini arrives unexpectedly, he speaks with an indistinguishable foreign accent claiming that he has overturned his Rolls Royce in the snow. On the following afternoon a telephone call informs the Ralston’s that a Detective Sergeant Trotter of the Berkshire Police Force is on his way to discuss an urgent matter. When Trotter appears on skis, it is to question the Ralston’s and their guests about the murder of the married woman. Trotter explains to the assembled company that a notebook found next to her body has written in it the address of the guesthouse. The Detective Sergeant’s arrival sets in train a series of events that include another sudden death and the eventual unmasking of the murderer.
Boasting a stellar cast including TV stalwarts Todd McCarthy and Gwyneth Strong, the production features several standout performances, notably from McCarthy as the blustering and shadowy Major Metcalfe and Amy Spinks as the strangely alluring and mysterious Miss Casewell. Performed on a beautifully designed box set that perfectly captures the grandeur of Monkswell Manor’s Great Hall the staging is slick and assured. The cast perform with great ease and elegance, oozing wit, style, and sophistication at every turn. The Mousetrap is famous for a plea that has passed into theatrical folklore to keep the identity of the play’s murderer a secret. Although many of the audience must know the identity beforehand, when it was revealed, it was greeted with genuine gasps of astonishment and surprise.
Despite the success of this anniversary tour and others worldwide, Christie’s plays continue to be dismissed as frivolous and lightweight. Her detractors should be encouraged to see this hugely enjoyable production. For the audience on press night saw the play with, the sustained air of suspense, meticulous attention to period detail and matchless theatricality was reward enough. For a slice of excellent 1950’s nostalgia, combined with pulsating drama, The Mousetrap like a perfect martini hits the spot and is highly recommended.
Runs until 13 April 2024 and continues on Tour
