One of the longest running pieces of theatre which is loved by so many. This Agatha Christie play is full of suspense and witty humour. Whilst watching you are constantly thinking who the killer is and you are never sure who really is. At one point you think you have worked it out then someone says something and your mind changes again. At the end of the show, the audience are asked to not reveal the twist ending.
Mousetrap is about a couple who own a hotel and on opening night there is huge snow storm, as a result all the guest including a mystery man who shows up unexpected are trapped in the hotel until the snow melts. Recently, there has been a murder in the nearby town and the murderer is believed to be heading to the hotel for its next victim. A police-man arrives to keep everyone safe yet everyone is hiding something from each other. Everyone is hiding secrets from each other so no one knows who they can trust.
The characters we meet are Mollie and Giles Ralston who own and run Monkswell Manor Hotel. Our first guest is Christopher Wren who is a very energetic young man who acts a very odd way but for an audience he comes across as very humorous. Wren admits that he is running away from something, but we don’t find out what. We also meet Mrs Boyle who is a very critical older lady who isn’t pleased with any aspect of Monkswell Manor. Another guest we meet is Major Metcalf, retired from the army; this is all that is known about the Major, he keeps everything private. Miss Casewell is another guest, she is a strange and masculine woman who speaks about her horrific experiences of her childhood which raises more questions than answers. Finally, Mr Paravicini turns up claiming that his car overturned in a snowdrift. He is believed to be putting on a foreign accent and artificially aged himself with make-up. No one knows where he comes from. We don’t really know anything about any of these characters so but it's interesting how easily they all turn on each other once suspicion and doubt sets in as everyone realises, they don’t know who to trust as no one is being honest each other.
The performance I got to see was extremely enjoyable, the complex characters are exciting to watch. This isn’t your typical whodunit, I would recommend to anyone to watch this play. This was a play that I've wanted to watch for a while, and it didn’t disappoint. It has a simple set up, there is no technology used its classic theatre with just actors and a simple set, yet it still works really well. As mentioned above this is one of the longest running plays in theatre, especially in London’s West End. If you get the chance, I would recommend everyone who love mystery or just going to watch an interesting play this is definitely worth a watch.
