The Mousetrap

This popular ‘who dunnit’ by Agatha Christie has been the longest running theatre play in history (clocking in over 25,000 performances in London alone) and judging by last night’s turnout at Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre it still packs in the crowds.

Originally broadcast in 1947 as a half hour radio play called Three Blind Mice in honour of Queen Mary, the radio play was then turned into short story before it was turned into a play called The Mousetrap… with its world premiere at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal in 1952, while in London it was none other than Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim who, together with producer Peter Saunders, contributed to the on-going success of play. The rest is history!

Loosely based on the real-life case of 12-year old Welsh boy Dennis O’Neill, who died from ill-treatment while in foster care on a Shropshire farm in 1945, the play is entirely set in Monkswell Manor which has recently been converted into a guesthouse and is run by a youngish couple, Mollie (Anna Andresen) and Giles Ralston (Nick Barclay). Via a radio announcement we learn about the brutal murder of a woman called Maureen Lyon and the remark that the police look for a man of medium height wearing a dark overcoat and a soft dark trilby. The dead woman was the mother of three foster children, one of whom had died due to her neglect.
As the weather outside worsens and snow begins to fall more severely by the hour, the guests arrive: first one is a young fellow who calls himself Christopher Wren (Oliver Gully) after the famous architect, though it quickly becomes evident that he is the big pretender with some problems to add to his persona – a persona which glides between over-the-top irritating and over-the-top enthusiastic. Whether it was a deliberate choice by Mr. Gully to portray Wren in that manner or whether he was instructed by director Watt-Smith to play him in that manner… less would have been more and certainly so as the play went on.
Grumpy old sourpuss Mrs. Boyle (Sarah Whitlock, who does a great job performing the old battle axe) is the next one to arrive though she ended up in Monkswell Manor by default. Mrs. Boyle never stops complaining and we suffer with the rest of the guests and of course with the Ralstons!
Major Metcalf (Tony Boncza) seems at the other end of the spectrum, unlike Mrs. Boyle he is pleased with the service and the food the guesthouse offers, or perhaps he’s just a polite kind of guy who hates complaining.

Young Miss Casewell (Amy Downham) comes across a pretty masculine and not just in her attire. Residing in Spain, she has returned to England ‘on a mission’ and is generally rather vague about her agenda and her background. The same can be said about ‘foreigner’ Mr. Paravicini (Gregory Cox) – a man who appears older than he seems to be (according to the other guests) and wears make-up. He furthermore only travels with a small bag, as he points out, “All I need is in this bag”. As our motley crew bicker and go about their restricted activities (restricted as at that point the guest house is completely cut off due to the heavy snow storm) the Ralstons receive a call from the local Berkshire Police Station, informing them that a Sergeant Trotter (Lewis Collier) is on its way to ask questions. Utterly perplexed, the Ralstons cannot think of any reason as to why the law should visit Monkswell Manor – especially in such severe weather. However, a short while later Sgt. Trotter arrives on skies – around the same time the phone line in Mokswell House breaks down.
Trotter explains the reason for his appearance, namely that on the body of the murdered woman in London a note was found with the name of Monkswell Manor and the words ‘Three Blind Mice’ – the murdered woman was obviously the first one. Because the clue led to Monkswell, Trotter has been sent by his superiors to investigate. And investigate he does! Slowly but surely it is revealed that some of the guests are in one way or another connected to the dead woman… and soon the second murder occurs in the library room of Monkswell Manor! As the web of intrigue pulls tighter and the finger of accusation keeps pointing from one potential suspect to another, the surprise twist finally arrives!

Of course, after over 25,000 performances it cannot possibly be any longer a ‘surprise twist’ though after every performance the audience is politely reminded not to reveal the secret to anyone who might wish to go see the show. Has anyone heard of Wikipedia? Ok, I won’t spoil it here but true wannabe criminologists will be provided with enough subtle hints during the performance to see that ‘surprise twist’ coming. I did (not wishing to boast…)

The Moustrap is good old-fashioned fun though by nowadays standards must come across as relatively harmless – there are no chills or shocking moments here, not even the murders seem shocking. Sergeant Trotter might lack a certain ‘oomph’ but nonetheless manages to make all the assembled guests nervous and play them against each other.
The lighting (courtesy of Peter Vaughan Clarke) is fantastic and creates the required atmospheres, the set (an oak-panelled affair with 17th century style oil paintings and huge dark-red velvet curtains is the same as is always used). There is one scene in which Mollie hoovers the floor and perhaps she shouldn’t have bothered, given the fact that said hoover looks far too modern for something from the 1950’s. This also goes for a certain jacket which Trotter wears towards the end.

(THE MOUSETRAP runs at the King’s Theatre until October 22nd)