For the past decade or so, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has held a certain fascination for me.
It stems from meeting an actor, who was appearing in the West End production at the time, and he was surprised when I told him I knew very little about it, aside from the fact it is the longest-running West End show. It’s three years short of its 70th birthday.
He teased me with a few details about it, and the fact that the identity of the killer is one of the most closely-guarded secrets about the murder mystery play.
I was delighted to have the chance to go and see it while it is touring, appearing at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal.
We open with a radio news report, telling of the murder of a Maureen Lyon, which is listened to in Monkswell Manor, recently converted to a guesthouse by young couple Mollie and Giles Ralston.
The report notes that police are looking for a man in a dark overcoat, scarf and felt hat, observed near the scene, and as the various guests arrive – Christopher Wren, Mrs Boyle, Major Metcalf, Miss Casewell and Mr Paravicini – the majority are wearing clothes that match the description.
Christie’s genius has been in crafting characters that are so identifiable, that they have since become stereotypes for the murder mystery genre – the camp young man, the younger woman who is masculine in her tastes, the blustering retired military man, and the foreigner with the over the top accent.
All are present and correct, and the cast is obviously having a ball. Susan Penhaligon makes Mrs Boyle so instantly unlikeable, that you really do want to find some lead piping, so there’s a body in the library. She manages to annoy and irritate everyone, so it’s no surprise she soon has an appointment with death.
We learn more and more about each character with every passing scene, and when Sergeant Trotter arrives to investigate, he warns the residents of Monkswell Manor that the murderer is on their way to find them – and they plan on having a third victim. Yes, murder is easy.
Susan Penhaligon as Mrs Boyle in The Mousetrap (Photo: Johan Persson)
This appears to be a crooked house – everyone has their own secrets, and there’s reasons for everyone to look suspicious. A huge part of the fun of watching The Mousetrap is trying to pick up on the clues, to see if you can guess who the killer is.
Each of the residents goes tries to prove it wasn’t them, as their ordeal of innocence pushes some of them to the limit.
The cast have all been perfectly matched to their characters, capturing the received pronunciation of the post-war period perfectly, with Harriett Hare capturing the youthful innocence and vigour of Mollie Ralston, and Nick Biadon makes her husband Giles instantly amiable and yet untrustworthy at the same time.
Lewis Chandler has a ball as Christopher Wren, getting the most laughs from the audience with his over the top character, but at the same time, finding a vulnerability in him which makes him endearing. That, in turn, also makes him suspicious. John Griffiths plays Major Metcalf with the bluster of the Major from Fawlty Towers, and his a good stage presence. David Alcock is having a ball as Mr Paravincini, with his accent somewhere between Paris and Rome, while Saskia Vaigncourt-Strallen gives Miss Casewell a real sense of mystery, a character you feel you never quite get to know, in a way that we do with the others.
The set is superb, capturing another Christie trope, that of the big country house, with its many doors, stairwells and corridors, and is far from being the sancutary that each resident hoped for, as they escape the wintry weather outside.
Of course, the great secret about The Mousetrap is in the fact it’s a whodunnit. At the end, the killer politely asked us to keep the secret. When you’re asked so nicely, it would be wrong to ruin it for anyone else. I’ll put my cards on the table – this is a superb production, of a first class play. Unmissable.
(And for what it’s worth, I worked out who the killer was. My application to join the police is in the post)
For tickets, click HERE.
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