It’s the 70th Anniversary Tour of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap – the classic whodunit which we cannot talk too much about! So let’s see what can be revealed….
Mollie Ralston (Joelle Dyson) and Giles Ralston (Laurence Pears) have only been married a year and decide to open a guesthouse at a remote countryside grand house, Monkswell Manor. On their first day of opening they check-in their 5 interesting guests and with the bad weather brewing they find themselves snowed in and stuck in the Manor.
Christopher Wren (Elliot Clay) is a young architect, full of eccentric energy who randomly sings and is a bit of a toff.
Mrs Boyle (Gwyneth Strong) is a no-nonsense mature lady who critically comments and complains about everyone and everything.
Major Metcalf (Todd Carty) is a logical, rational military man who rubs along with everyone.
Miss Casewell (Essie Barrow) is a young, smart, trendy woman who confidently stands her ground.
Mr Paravicini (Kieran Brown) has crashed his car in the snow and stumbled across the guesthouse for refuge, and admits he is a man of mystery.
Detective Sargent Trotter (Joseph Reed) joins the guests as his is investigating a murder in London and his investigation has lead him to here. He says his main role is for safety and to protect the guests.
There is a murder in the house! Whilst scared, a couple of guests start to bond, others get paranoid, another seemingly goes mad. Trotter tries to piece the jigsaw together however as the guests’ stories unfold and the pressures of either being the murderer or the next victim play on their minds their truths start to crumble and the lies come forth. Who is telling lies to cover their tracks?, who can they trust…? People are not what they seem and it looks as though everyone had the opportunity… and why do we keep hearing ‘Three Blind Mice’?
The setting is the Great Hall of Monkswell Manor with several doors, arches and steps for rooms leading off the hall, and a huge stained glass window in the middle. This feeling of space gives the actors plenty of movement, so it doesn’t feel stuck in one place even though all the scenes are in the same spot.
The actors played their characters dutifully to the tongue-in-cheek well-spoken British clichés, with a good dousing of humour. Although this is a murder mystery, it has plenty of light comedy which brought many laughs from the audience. This tour is bringing in some great TV actors to the show.
Small clues are dropped along the way but are you smart enough to pick them up? Not only will you have to go and watch it to find out, it makes sense to experience the world’s longest running play, don’t you think? Have a guess at the interval and see if you get it right.
Photo credit: Matt Crockett
This review appeared on GrapevineLIVE