Four star review of The Mousetrap at Leeds Grand Theatre

Agatha Christie’s legendary whodunnit is, incredibly, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year and this slick touring production is bringing thrills and suspense to audiences around the country.

Set in the early 1950s, when the play was first staged, it opens with young couple Mollie and Giles Ralston (Rachel Dawson and Michael Lyle) preparing to meet the first cohort of guests at their newly opened country house hotel Monkswell Manor. Unfortunately, there is a snowstorm raging outside and they are anxious that they might end up with no guests at all. However, it turns out they are all pretty hardy and one by one they arrive – shortly after a news report on the radio about a gruesome murder that has taken place in London. The vague description of the perpetrator – wearing a dark overcoat, a light-coloured scarf and a felt hat – provides a nice running gag as each guest enters attired in precisely that outfit.

There is eccentric, playful young architect Christopher Wren (Shaun McCourt), severe and enigmatic young Miss Casewell (Leight Lothian), pompous, crotchety Mrs Boyle (Catherine Shipton) and reserved ex-military man Major Metcalf (Todd Carty). They are joined by an unexpected guest – the charming, very talkative Mr Paravicini (Steven Elliott) who claims his car is stuck in a snowdrift. More details about the murder are revealed each time the radio is turned on, linking it to a shocking child abuse case connected to a nearby farm. At this point eager young local policeman DS Trotter (Garyn Williams) appears – on skis – and is determined to get to the bottom of things.

Archetypes and stereotypes abound, on top of which with a piece of this vintage, it could feel ponderous or creaky, but there is no danger of that. Directors Ian Talbot and Denise Silvey ensure that the action moves along at a cracking pace while Christie’s masterful plot ratchets up the tension, with plenty of red herrings and surprising twists, all laced with some nice wry humour. At the end of the play there is the customary address to the audience, requesting that we all keep the secret of exactly who the killer is. It all makes for a highly entertaining night out at the theatre.

To September 2.