The Mousetrap at St. Martin's Theatre: A West End Review
Now in its 70th year, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, at the St. Martin’s Theatre in Central London is still attracting audiences.
Having seen it, I can see why - an excellent whodunit which keeps the audience guessing up until the very last moment.
The scene is set at the newly opened Monkswell Manor Guesthouse somewhere in the Home Counties, and recently acquired by newly married couple, Mollie and Giles Ralston. It has the feel of a house party, although no-one knows each other, with guests arriving just as a snowstorm begins. Needless-to-say, someone is soon murdered, and all the guests including the owners are portrayed as having something to hide, making them all suspects.
Within the play there is also another storyline. Agatha Christie has drawn from the real-life case of Dennis O'Neill. Dennis died after he and his brother Terence suffered extreme abuse while in the foster care of a Shropshire farmer and his wife in 1945.
The play keeps you guessing throughout making you think it is one person and then another. When the murderer is eventually revealed, the protagonist comes forward after the curtain comes down to ask the audience to keep the intrigue alive by not telling anyone who hasn’t seen it who the murderer is.
The acting is faultless as would be expected, and the play is stimulating enough to leave the audience guessing until virtually the end. A great evening, with a story that is likely to appeal to everyone.