By Peter Maddern
About the only thing that hasn’t been written about The Mousetrap is whodunit and this critic is not about to go there either. Eight people have been brought together in a comfortable country lodging but they have been shut off from the outside world by a snow storm; even the phone line has gone down.
As the play progresses, in classic Agatha Christie style, there is a death amongst them and all manner of secrets emerge so the audience is kept pondering on the developments and seeking out the clues. The ending stills packs a punch and this cast has great delight in playing the various extreme English characters.
As we know The Moustrap just goes on and on with its ‘season’ in London and it is now very much a part of the Thos Cook highlights of England that any minimally discerning tourist is told is a ‘must do’. The well-heeled audience at the Playhouse last night looked like they had all done it before at various times on their travels or felt compelled to see in their own home town even if they had resisted the urgings when abroad – in brief, there were few under the age of 50 there last night and those over 70 must have been sure the shock of the ending would not upset their constitution.
It’s all good fun and could be put in the same category as The Nutcracker on Ice and Yes, Prime Minister, two other shows that toured earlier in the year, in the category of safe entertainment. Given times have greatly changed since Christie wrote these stories, particularly the constant fare of the same genre each night on TV, The Mousetrap is all a bit ho-hum but if it exists for you on some ‘must do before I die’ list, then this is no better time to see and enjoy it.
Kryztoff Rating 3.5K
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