To celebrate its Diamond Anniversary, The Mousetrap will embark on its first ever tour of the UK next year, arriving at the Grand Opera House from Monday 1 - Saturday 6 October 2012. We take a closer look at the legendary 'whodunit' written by the greatest crime writer ever...
Put simply, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap is theatre royalty. It has been thrilling audiences around the world since 1952, the same year that Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne.
It holds countless accolades, including a Guinness World Record for the longest continuous run of any show, anywhere in the world. 403 actors and 235 understudies have appeared in The Mousetrap, which has been performed an incredible 24,587 times in 50 different languages!
Acclaimed by the New York Times as 'one of the most skillfully written murder mysteries ever produced', Dame Agatha Christie has created an atmosphere of shuddering suspense and a brilliantly intricate plot where murder lurks around every corner.
The Mousetrap famously opens with a radio account of a vicious murder in London, as a parade of increasingly strange visitors begin to arrive at the guest house of Mollie and Giles Ralston at nearby Monkswell Manor.
The guests become snowed in, and as news of the murder reaches them, they are joined by Detective Sergeant Trotter who informs the group that he believes the murderer is at large and on his way to the guest house...
As the curtain falls for the final time, the audience are implicated in the conspiracy, with a final plea from the cast to keep the murderer's identity a secret - 'Now you have seen The Mousetrap, you are our partners in crime, and we ask you to preserve the tradition by keeping the secret of whodunit locked in your hearts.'
Producer Stephen Waley-Cohen attributes The Mousetrap’s enduring appeal to 'very good story-telling', adding 'it’s not about murder; it’s about solving the crime'.
He added, 'It’s a challenge to outwit her [Agatha Christie]. She gives you hundreds of clues and you have to try and identify which ones are red herrings and which ones are real. Audiences should come because we are part of theatrical history, and if they come in our 60th year, they too will be part of theatrical history.'
If you want to find out 'whodunit', Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap is playing at the Grand Opera House from Monday 1 - Saturday 6 October 2012. Tickets are currently on sale to Friends of the Grand Opera House exclusively, and on sale to the general public from Friday 23 December.
Just remember to keep it to yourself...