The Mousetrap is the world’s longest running play, currently in its 73rd year. Originally written by Agatha Christie as a radio play called Three Blind Mice, broadcast in 1947, it was first performed on the stage on 25th November 1952 and has been enjoyed by audiences ever since. Me included, I loved it!
A trip to the theatre
I was thrilled to see The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre in London (home of the play since 1973) last week, at performance number 29,857, in fact. I know this because its delightfully written up on a board in the foyer and you can get your programme stamped with the number of the show you saw.
The longstanding tradition of The Mousetrap is that once you see it, you don’t actually tell anyone the key plot moments, so as not to spoil the enjoyment of seeing the play. Put it this way – there were literal gasps from the audience at certain moments, seeing it without knowing what happens is a huge part of the experience.
Whodunnit?
I will say that The Mousetrap has all the hallmarks of everything you love from an Agatha Christie classic: isolated setting, key cast of characters – all with their own tantalising little back stories and secrets – and, of course, murder. Whodunnit? Well, you’ll just have to go and see it to find out!
You can also buy the script as a book I personally feel that should be done as a souvenir once you’ve seen the play.
We were lucky enough to have a backstage tour of the set, as an Agatha fan, this was such a huge thrill, to actually walk on that famous stage! Carpeted to really made it feel like a room, I now know. The red clock you can see above in the image on the right is from the first show, making it the oldest stage prop still in use in the world.
Another original prop they have is backstage – the wind machine. I learnt that a lot of the sound effects are done in real life just behind the stage, rather than digitally added, to really adhere to the original production and add that extra layer of authenticity.
You can see the wind machine in action, along with other fascinating snippets like the snow room in this backstage tour video. Its from the 60th year, so the stage set is different to now but everything else is the same.
I loved The Mousetrap, a 100% must-see if you’re an Agatha Christie fan or even if you’re not!
