Last night I was lucky enough to attend the opening night of The Mousetrap at The Orchard Theatre in Dartford. This classic Agatha Christie play is a murder mystery (oh course!) which I knew nothing about before the performance – which was great as I spent the night guessing who had done it along with the rest of the audience.
The Mousetrap is the longest-running show of any kind in the history of theatre! The play began life as a short radio play broadcast on 30 May 1947 called Three Blind Mice in honour of Queen Mary, the consort of King George V. It opened in London’s West End in 1952, and has been running continuously since then with its 25,000th performance taking place on 18 November 2012.
Set in the early 1950s we meet a group of people gathered in a newly opened country guest house which becomes cut off by a winter storm, snowing them in. Along with their hosts, the guests discover, to their horror, that there is a murderer in their midst.
Once joined by an intrepid Police Sergeant (who uses skis to get to the house!), one by one the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts until at the last, nerve-shredding moment the identity and the motive are finally revealed.
- Mollie Ralston – Proprietor of Monkswell Manor, and wife of Giles with a traumatic past.
- Giles Ralston – Husband of Mollie who runs Monkswell Manor with his wife with a questionable alibi.
- Christopher Wren – The first guest to arrive at the hotel, a somewhat odd, hyperactive, peculiar manner young man who is on the run – but from what? I found Christopher particularly entertaining – he was my favourite character purely for his bizarre behaviour!
- Mrs Boyle – A snobbishly critical older woman who is pleased by nothing she observes and generally unliked by the other guests.
- Major Metcalf – A retired Major. Little is known about Major Metcalf.
- Miss Casewell – Aa aloof, masculine woman who speaks offhandedly about the horrific experiences of her childhood. I admit I rather liked Miss Casewell as a character.
- Mr Paravicini – Another peculiar man, foreign, who turns up without a booking claiming his car has overturned in a snowdrift. I found Mr Paravicini just as bizarre as Mr Wren, however, Paravicini was far more creepy – reminiscent of a moustache-twirling baddy in an old black and white movie.
- Detective Sergeant Trotter – The detective who questions the proprietors and guests trying to identify the murderer.
Unlike the typical whodunnit story where the detective solves the crime and exposes the remaining plot secrets, The Mousetrap ends with the murderer’s identity is divulged near the end of the play, in a twist ending!
I really enjoyed the use of the radio in the play -mirroring the origins of the story and punctuating the plot. I also enjoyed the use of the scenery – especially the door to the drawing-room which seemed to lead characters somehow upstairs and down the staircase in an M.C Escher style paradox adding a level of humour.
Even though I had worked out who the murderer was and identified some of the other players among the guests before the interval (I have watched and read many crime genre movies and books) I enjoyed the audible gasps of my fellow audience members when the murderer was revealed.
Traditionally, at the end of each performance, the audience is asked not to reveal the identity of the killer to anyone outside the theatre, to ensure that the end of the play is not spoilt for future audiences. Christie was always upset by the plots of her works being revealed in reviews and I rather like this quaint tradition.
Experience the shuddering suspense and a brilliantly intricate plot for yourself with this classic Agatha Christie play which runs from 16th – 21st September with performances at 2:30pm & 7:30pm. For more information or to book visit the Orchard Theatre website.
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