Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at the Comedy Theatre
Seventy years. That’s how long Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been playing in London. It’s also how long the twist ending of the world-famous mystery has remained a secret known only to those who have seen it, with audiences asked at the end of the play never to reveal whodunnit.
To celebrate its platinum jubilee this October, the world’s longest-running play is coming to Sydney’s Theatre Royal. It’ll then play at QPAC’s Playhouse in Brisbane from November 3 and Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from 17 February, 2023.
The Mousetrap made its premiere on October 6, 1952, and after a brief tour found its long-term home at the Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End, where it ran until March 23, 1974. It immediately moved to the larger St Martin’s Theatre next door, where it has continued to this day. This version will be directed by Australian theatre icon Robyn Nevin and produced by John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia.
The story was originally conceived as a short radio play called Three Blind Mice, which was broadcast in 1947 in honour of Queen Mary’s 80th birthday. Christie later reworked it for television and print, and finally for theatre as the The Mousetrap.
The play is classic Christie. A local girl is murdered, and staff and guests, who are trapped in a manor due to a snowstorm, realise the killer is among them. A police detective arrives to solve the case, interrogating the quirky characters, and then a second murder happens. There are twists, accusations and intrigue – signature traits of a novelist the Guinness World Records calls the best-selling of all time.
The Melbourne waitlist is now open, with tickets on sale from September 9.
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