The Mousetrap – the ultimate whodunnit comes to the Royal & Derngate stage all this week!

Agatha Christie’s iconic thriller The Mousetrap, the longest running play in the world, is on at the Royal & Derngate all this week from until Saturday 17 February.

How can a play that was given an optimistic eight months to run in the West End by its author Agatha Christie way back in 1952, still be selling out theatres across the world, seventy two years later?

The answer lies in the genius of Agatha Christie, who at the request of the BBC, wrote a thirty minute radio play called, “Three Blind Mice”, as a 80th birthday present for Queen Mary, the mother of King George VI. It was well received and five years later Christie used it as the basis for “The Mousetrap” which she turned into a full length stage play, adding extra characters, a much fuller detailed background & ingenious plot. Not only was the rodent connection retained in the new title, but it also carried a particularly neat reference to the play within a play in Shakespeare`s “Hamlet”.

This year, stalled because of covid, the play is celebrating its 70th Anniversary tour, the genre-defining murder mystery from Agatha Christie, the world’s best-selling novelist of all time, is visiting over 70 venues across the country, including all cities in which it originally played 70 years ago, plus many more including the Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

There will be no spoilers in this review so I will keep the detail brief. A disparate group of seven strangers find themselves snowed in at the Monkswell Manor guest house, a stately home, being managed by recently married couple Mollie (Neera Maik) & Giles Ralson (Barnaby Jago).

The strong cast includes Todd Carty, as Major Metcalf, a retired, army officer with a short, staccato voice. He appears to be likeable & polite, yet somewhat detached & distant. Todd will be familiar to many as Mark Fowler in Eastenders, Tucker Jenkins in Grange Hill and for a short hilarious stint in Dancing on Ice!

Credit must also be given go to Gwyneth Strong (Mrs Boyle) best known for her role as Cassandra, the love interest and later, wife of Rodney, in the hugely popular, “Only Fools and Horses”, and also appeared in EastEnders as Geraldine Clough, in 2016.

When a police sergeant arrives out of the blue, the guests are told to their horror that a killer may be in their midst. A woman named Maureen Lyon had been murdered in London the previous day and the Sargent explains his suspicions that someone in the Manor House may be the killer and that their own lives may be at risk!

One of the guests finds themselves sitting alone, late in the afternoon, in a cold room, about to be murdered! Who is murdered and by whom! One by one, each of the characters reveal their stories to the police Sergeant. Which one is the murderer? Who will be their next victim? This is the classic Agatha Christie whodunnit! A good old fashioned Agatha Christie with plenty of red herrings & an unexpected twist in the tale at the end of the play.

We are told that the killer was described as a man wearing a dark coat, a soft felt hat, and a scarf. Of course, most of the guests at Monkswell Manor seem to fit the description of the murderer. From the time the play opens, it has the audience guessing. Giles Ralston, sneaks across the hall with a package, quickly arousing suspicion. The smart & sophisticated Mr Paravicini (Steven Elliot) who turns up unexpectantly claiming his car has overturned in a snowdrift and needs to seek shelter! He appears to be affecting a foreign accent and artificially aged with make-up.

Chrispher Wren (Shaun McCourt) is the first guest to arrive at the guest house. He is a hyperactive & sometimes acts in a very peculiar manner. His behaviour concerns many of the guests but his character produces many of the lighter moments in the play. When he reappears from behind the long curtain drapes, his head moving slowly up & down & a hand covering his face. A brief comedic moment!

Amy Spinks (Miss Casewell) & Michael Ayiotis (Detective Sargeant Trotter) make up the splendid eight strong stage performers.

If you have enjoyed the reality television series The Traitors you will enjoy The Mousetrap! I certainly did! I love a good puzzle! Don`t just see it= solve it!

The Mousetrap, the longest running play in the world, will be on stage at Royal & Derngate all this week until Saturday 17 February, as part of its 70th Anniversary tour. 

Evenings 7.30pm Matinees – Wed & Sat 2.30pm