The Mousetrap

The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play written by the famous author Agatha Christie. It is known for being the longest-running West End show, and it holds the record for the longest run of any play in the world. On 19 March 2025, it reached an amazing milestone of its 30,000th performance.

The play first opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran for many years. It stopped for a short time during the COVID-19 pandemic but started performing again on 17 May 2021. By 2022, over 10 million people in London had seen the play.

As a whodunit, The Mousetrap features a surprising twist ending that the audience is asked not to tell others about after the show. There are eight actors in the play, and since it began, more than 400 different actors have taken on the roles. The first Detective Sergeant Trotter was played by Richard Attenborough, and the first Mollie Ralston, the owner of Monkswell Manor guesthouse, was played by his wife, Sheila Sim. Over the years, many actors have performed in the play, but writer Stephen Moss once said in The Guardian that the play and its author are truly the stars.

History

The play The Mousetrap started as a short radio play written by Agatha Christie for Queen Mary, the consort of King George V. It was first broadcast on 30 May 1947 and was called Three Blind Mice.

The Mousetrap became very popular and has been performed many times. It is known for its surprising ending. Over the years, it has attracted many tourists who want to see this famous play. A charity called Mousetrap Theatre Projects was started to help young people experience theatre in London. Another play called The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard makes fun of The Mousetrap.

Theatrical performances

The Mousetrap began its journey as a stage play on October 6, 1952, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. After touring several cities, it opened in London on November 25, 1952, at the Ambassadors Theatre. The play moved to the larger St Martin's Theatre in 1974 and continued running there. It has now surpassed 30,000 performances, making it the longest-running play in the West End and the world.

Notable moments in the play’s history include its 1,000th performance in 1955, becoming the longest-running "straight" play in the West End in 1957, and reaching its 30,000th performance on March 19, 2025. Performances paused from March 2020 to May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The play has also been enjoyed in many other places, including Toronto, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Australia, and is planned for Broadway in 2023.

Characters

The play features several interesting characters. Mollie Ralston and her husband Giles run Monkswell Manor as its proprietors. The first guest to arrive is Christopher Wren, a lively young man who seems to be hiding something. Other guests include Mrs Boyle, a picky older woman, and Major Metcalf, a retired army officer. There is also Miss Casewell, a peculiar woman who mentions difficult times from her past, and Mr Paravicini, a mysterious man who claims his car got stuck in the snow. Detective Sergeant Trotter arrives during a snow storm to investigate, and a voice on the radio provides important news for the story.

Twist ending and tradition of secrecy

The murderer’s identity is revealed near the end of the play, creating a twist that breaks the usual pattern of mystery stories. After each show, the audience is asked not to tell others who the killer is, so that future viewers can enjoy the surprise.

Agatha Christie disliked when the plots of her works were revealed in reviews. In 2010, her grandson expressed disappointment that the ending of The Mousetrap had been described online. The play’s twist is kept secret to maintain its impact, unlike some other famous stories where the surprise ending has become widely known.

Main article: Whodunnit
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Plot

The play The Mousetrap is set in Monkswell Manor, a guesthouse in Berkshire, and follows a group of guests and the owners as they uncover a mystery. The guests arrive and soon learn that they are snowed in. Sergeant Trotter arrives to investigate a recent murder in Paddington, London, and suspicions arise among the group.

As the night progresses, one of the guests is found dead. Trotter, who is not really a policeman, reveals himself to be the brother of a murdered boy seeking revenge. Just in time, another guest steps in to stop him. The truth comes out, and the guests discover secrets about each other and the real policeman among them.

Critical reception

When The Mousetrap first opened, reviewers in Britain had mixed opinions. Some thought it was just okay, with one saying it had "less in it than meets the eye" and that the characters felt like old stereotypes. Others liked the clever plotting and the way the characters were easy to tell apart. One reviewer enjoyed the tense atmosphere but felt some characters were too easy to figure out. Overall, people either loved the surprise ending or thought it was a bit too strange.

Publication history

The play was published as a paperback by Samuel French Ltd in 1954 and is still available today. It was later published in hardback in a collection of plays by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1978.

Film and television versions

In 1959, it was announced that a film version of the play would be made, but no film was ever produced. Later, the story was adapted into different forms around the world. In 1960, a Bengali film called Chupi Chupi Aashey was made based on the play. In 1980, an Egyptian television drama titled فندق الضحايا (Hotel of Victims) featured the actor Ahmed Zaki. In 1990, a Russian film named Мышеловка (The Mousetrap) was directed by Samson Samsonov. In 2022, a British-American film called See How They Run was set in the Ambassadors Theatre and involved actors performing The Mousetrap.