The world’s longest-running play, penned by queen of the whodunnit Dame Agatha Christie and seen by at least 10 million theatre-goers over the past 70 years, is playing at Cardiff’s New Theatre this week. Watching The Mousetrap is like stepping back into an era when the radio is still called a wireless and everyone heard on it sounds most awfully posh.
This classic murder mystery takes place in the remote country guesthouse, Monkswell Manor, and the set design remains unchanged from the play’s 1952 debut: a single room with wood panelling and a plethora of doors and windows for the cast to appear and exit from. A wireless sits in the corner, playing a news bulletin about a recent murder in London, and Giles and Mollie Ralston – the newly married couple who’ve recently opened this guesthouse – receive a disparate group of guests on a snowy evening.
“All our guests are unpleasant or odd,” Giles ruefully notes as the snow continues and any chance of leaving the guesthouse recedes. He’s not wrong: Christie has summoned up a eclectic bunch of travellers to delight and menace us. First to arrive is the troubled young architect Christopher Wren – high-spirited yet slightly maniacal, and played to perfection by Elliott Clay – followed by Lucinda Strong’s curmudgeonly retired judge Mrs. Boyle. Next to appear are the mysterious young Miss Casewell and retired Major Metcalf, a veteran of the British Army and surprisingly nimble for his age. Finally, an unexpected guest turns up – the shifty, mysterious Mr Paravicini, who’s supposedly crashed his car in the blizzard. As the guests assemble in the living room, the phone rings. A local policeman is on his way, believing there to be a murderer amongst the guests, one likely to strike again this evening…
It is easy to understand why this play has enjoyed a 70-year run. The plot twists genuinely surprised me, and the sense of menace created by Christie has not been diminished by time; the creepy score, featuring children’s nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice, serves as a chilling thread throughout. In true Christie fashion, each of the guests falls under the spotlight of suspicion until finally the murderer is revealed, the audience being sworn to secrecy at the finale.
However, there are also plenty of laughs in this piece, especially from Kieran Brown’s hilariously camp yet sinister portrayal of Mr Paravicini and Elliott Clay’s flamboyant Christopher Wren. Expect plenty of red herrings and a surprise ending!
The Mousetrap, New Theatre, Cardiff, Tue 14 Mar
On until Sat 18 Mar. Tickets: £17-£39. Info: here
words SARAH EDWARDS
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