Mousetrap

After over 50 years, this Agatha Christie play has lost none of its suspense nor its chill. St. Martin Theatre is the latest to stage its own additions to the 23,000 performances of the show which have been given since its conception. Indeed this show is the longest running, of any kind, anywhere in the world. It transferred to its current theatre in 1974 and over 350 actors have taken on the roles in the London production.

The story shows a young couple, Mollie and Giles Ralston, who have recently begun a new hotel venture in an old manor-house. In typical Christie fashion, the owners soon find themselves snowed in with four guests, a traveller who gets his car stuck in the snow outside, and a policeman who skis in to tell them that a murderer may be on the way after a death in London. When one the guests in the hotel is also murdered, it transpires that the murderer must already be in the hotel. This is classic Christie whodunit territory but the twist at the end of the show, which each audience is asked not to reveal after they have left the theatre, is well worth the wait. Although, if you really can’t bear to wait to find out what happens, the shows tremendously long-run means that the twist is very common knowledge and thus, whilst it shall not be revealed here, a quick search-engine session should settle your curiosity.

There are 8 performances of the show a week, with evening performances running Monday to Saturday, with matinees on Tuesday’s and Saturdays; you would think that workload would drive the cast to acts of Christie-esque murder but each night they give as good a performance as their first had been. Tickets for Mousetrap start from just £13.50 and go up to £36 which is very reasonable when you consider what you are getting to see is a piece of theatrical history.

It’s been running for so long that perhaps the show has lost its ability to shock but its combination of simple and the master plot work of Christie means that the show does still have a freshness about it. Many luminaries of the acting circuit such as Sir Richard Attenborough have graced the show in the past and the quality of the writing means brilliant actors are always clamouring to get involved; perhaps for the job security more than anything else!