St. Martin's Theatre, London 2002
The Mousetrap is a mystery play by
Agatha Christie. The play is known for having the longest initial run of any play in the
world, with 22,800 performances in the course of its (as of August 15, 2007) nearly 55-year run in the West End of London. The play is known for its twist ending, which at the end of every performance the
audience is asked not to reveal.
History of the play
The play began life as a short radio play broadcast on May 30 1947 called Three Blind Mice in
honour of Queen Mary, the consort of King
George V. The play had its origins in the real-life case of the death of a boy, Dennis O'Neill, who died whilst in the
foster care of a Shropshire farmer and his wife in 1945
(See Three Blind Mice for details).
The play is based on a short story, itself based on the radio play, but Christie asked
that the story not be published as long as it ran as a play in the West End of
London. It has still not been published as a book within the United Kingdom, but
the script is available. Under the contract terms of the play, no film adaptation can be produced until the West End production
has been closed for at least six months.
When she wrote the play, Christie gave the rights to her grandson Mathew Prichard as a
birthday present. Prichard currently owns the rights to all of her works.
In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, "The Mousetrap" is Hamlet's answer to Claudius's inquiry
about the name of the play whose prologue and first scene the court has just observed (III, ii). The play is actually The
Murder of Gonzago, but Hamlet answers metaphorically, since "the play's the thing" in which he intends to "catch the
conscience of the king."
Theatrical performances
As a stage play, the Mousetrap began its run in London on 25 November 1952 at the New Ambassadors
Theatre, and as of August 15, 2007 it has clocked up a record-breaking 22,800 performances, with the play still running at
St Martin's Theatre. The director of the play for many years has been David
Turner.
The original West End cast included Richard
Attenborough as Sergeant Trotter and his wife Sheila Sim as Mollie Ralston. Since the
retirement of Mysie Monte and David Raven, who
both made history by remaining in the cast for more than 11 years each in their roles as Mrs Boyle and Major Metcalf, the cast
has been changed annually. The change usually occurs around November, and was the initiative of Sir Peter Saunders, the original producer. There is a tradition of the retiring leading lady and the new
leading lady cutting a "Mousetrap cake" together.
The play has also made theatrical history by having an original 'cast member' survive all the cast changes since its opening
night. The late Deryck Guyler can still be heard, via a recording, reading the news
bulletin in the play to this present day.
In May 2001 (during the London production's 49th year, and to mark the 25th anniversary of Christie's death) the cast gave a
semi-staged Sunday performance at the Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea as a guest contribution to
the Agatha Christie Theatre Festival 2001, a 12-week history-making cycle of all of Agatha
Christie's plays presented by Roy Marsden's New Palace Theatre
Company.
A staging at the Toronto Truck Theatre in Toronto,
Ontario, that opened on 19 August 1977 became Canada's longest running show, before finally closing on
18 January 2004 after a run of twenty-six years and over 9,000
performances.
Plot
The story is about a young couple, Mollie and Giles Ralston, who have started up a new hotel in the converted Monkswell Manor.
They are snowed in together with four guests and an additional traveller, who ran his car into a snowdrift. Detective Sergeant
Trotter arrives on skis to inform the group that he believes a murderer is on his way to the hotel, following the death of Miss
Maureen Lyon in London.
When one of the guests - Mrs Boyle - is killed, they realize that the murderer is already there. Although the suspicion falls
first on Christopher Wren, an erratic young man who fits the description of the supposed murderer, it quickly transpires that the
killer could be any one of the guests, or even the hosts themselves.
Identity of the murderer
Towards the end of the play, Sergeant Trotter assembles everyone in the dining room with the plan to set a trap for one of the
suspects, but in the play's twist ending, it is revealed that Sergeant Trotter is not a policeman at all, and is in fact the
murderer.
By tradition, at the end of each performance, audiences are asked not to reveal the identity of the killer to anyone outside
the theatre, to ensure that the end of the play isn't spoiled for future audiences. This ritual has become the occasional butt of
jokes, such as Stephen Fry's revelation of the ending on a television programme, as the play
has been running for so long that its twist is fairly common knowledge.
Characters
- Mollie Ralston - proprietor of Monkswell Manor, and wife of Giles. Although initially above suspicion, it later
transpires Mollie made a secret trip to London on the same day Maureen Lyon was murdered.
- Giles Ralston - husband of Mollie who runs Monkswell Manor with his wife. The very first suspect, as Giles enters the
stage dressed in clothing similar to that worn by the killer. It transpires Giles also made a secret trip to London on the day
Maureen Lyon was murdered. Even Mollie begins to suspect Giles, when she realises she has known him just a year and knows nothing
of his background.
- Christopher Wren - the first guest to arrive at the hotel, Wren is a hyperactive young man, who is depicted as acting
in a very peculiar manner. He admits he is running away from something, but refuses to admit what. The audience quickly leaps to
the conclusion he was one of the abused children, driven schizophrenic by repeated abuse and now a murderer. Wren claims to be
named after the architect of the same name.
- Mrs Boyle - a critical spinster of a woman who is pleased by nothing she observes. A former magistrate, we discover
she had placed the three children in Maureen Lyon's care. Shortly afterwards she is murdered and therefore the only character
above suspicion.
- Major Metcalf - retired from the army, little is known about Major Metcalf. Suspicion falls upon him once it is
revealed that the father of the three siblings was in the army at the time their mother died, which led to them being put into
care.
- Miss Casewell - a strange, aloof woman who speaks offhandedly about the horrific experiences of her childhood.
Refusing to give any more away, the natural conclusion is that she is one of the abused children, here to seek a terrible
revenge.
- Mr Paravicini - a man of unknown provenance. He appears to be affecting a foreign accent and artificially aged with
make-up. Who he is or where he comes from remains a mystery and his refusal to answer a direct question only underlines this
point. The audience is encouraged to theorise he is the children's father, disguised as an elderly foreigner and returned from
the army to wreak a terrible revenge.
- Sergeant Trotter - a policeman who arrives in a snow storm to protect the guests from the murderer.
- Maureen Lyon (unseen in the play) - the first victim. Miss Lyon was imprisoned for abusing three siblings left in her
foster care. Upon release from prison she moved to London, seeking anonymity, where she was murdered.
References
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
