Review: The Mousetrap

THE Mousetrap is one of those plays which even if you haven’t seen it, and until this week I was among those who hadn’t, you will have heard of. Such is its fame that it’s even become a Trivial Pursuit question (and, yes, it remains the longest-running show in the history of British theatre).

Whatever you may think of Agatha Christie’s classic whodunnit, the fact it’s been running for so long is astonishing and to mark its diamond anniversary, the play has embarked on a UK tour.

It’s the first time it has toured outside London in 60 years, although it has been to the Grand before, way back in 1952 when Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim were among the original cast.

The play itself is a curious mixture of 1950s drawing-room farce and murder mystery, complete with tweed, clipped English accents and a cast of stereotypes including a spinster, an army major and a young married couple, all of whom find themselves unwittingly caught up in a murder investigation at an old country house.

Christie was a master of suspense and plotting and the stage set is brilliantly designed, lending itself perfectly to the creeping air of suspicion.

People love a good mystery, which is no doubt part of the play’s enduring appeal, and the audience is kept guessing who the murderer is until very near the end when the big twist is revealed. So, although it does feel a bit dated at times there are just enough nudges and winks to prevent it from being a total museum piece.

On tour.