23,000 performances and counting (Mousetrap)

Member Name: frankie1984

Product:	Mousetrap
Date:	10/08/08 (335 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A classic show and internationally known

Disadvantages: Don't expect too much as it's a bit dated

I had booked tickets to go and see the Agatha Christie play 'The Mousetrap' at St. Martin's theatre in London with my mum for her birthday as she has wanted to see the play for many years. Because of us living up in Manchester it was a case of having to stay the night in London to enable us to see the play. After all this effort I hoped it would be worth it!

The play:
The Mousetrap has been playing now in London for nearly 60 years and is the longest running play in the world. The show's first performance was on the 6th of October 1952 and it started off by being shown in the Theatre Royal in Nottingham and then toured various theatres across the UK before finally settling in the West End at the New Ambassadors theatre where it stayed until 23rd of March 1974. It was over this weekend the play was moved next door to St. Martin's theatre as it is slightly bigger and it is here it has stayed since. The play even actually made it into the Guinness book of records back in April 1958 for being the longest running play in British theatre back then! And now it is in its 56th year!
The play was written by Agatha Christie and as with all her novels it is a murder mystery with a final twist. The concept that has kept the play going for so long is that at the end the cast actually ask you to not give away the ending so that others who have not seen the play will be able to still enjoy it fully.

The set:
The play is set in one room throughout which may seem a little boring to some but it does work - interestingly the set was even replaced in 2000 for the first time since being in St. Martin's theatre without having to stop any performances. The room the whole play is done from is the lounge in a manor guest house. There is reference to other rooms but we do not see any set changes.
As you can imagine with such an old play the idea of the room is quite dated and is old fashioned but, it ties in well with the look and feel of the play. In fact there is only one piece apparently that is still there from the original set and that is the clock on the mantelpiece.

The story:
Obviously there is only so much I can say about the story itself as I don't want to spoil it! However if you are familiar with Agatha Christies work then you will more than likely have an idea what it is like or you may have even read about it! For those who have not read the book or are not familiar with her work then the basic plot is that there has been a murder and the police are sure there are more to follow. Will the detective sent in be able to find the murderer in time and stop any more deaths?

The cast:
Bit of a difficult one here as there has been an amazing amount of cast members involved in the show and some have even received entries into the Guinness book of records for their performances such as David Raven as the 'Most Durable Actor' for 4575 performances as Major Metcalf or even Nancy Seabrooke for 15 years in an understudy role!

However the cast as it stands at this present time for the 2007-2008 period are as follows:
Giles Ralston - Simon Hepworth
Mollie Ralston - Vanessa Clarke
Christopher Wren - Edward Grace
Major Metcalf - Graeme Eaton
Mrs Boyle - Bronwen Williams
Miss Casewell - Rebecca Reaney
Mr Paravicini - Jim McManus
Sergeant Trotter - Richard Brightiff

Prices:
The theatre has three sections and these are all priced differently. The seats are priced in order of position and view of the stage within the theatre. The three sections are:

Stalls
Dress circle
Upper circle

The stalls are most expensive followed by the dress circle - we sat in the cheapest section (it was costing me enough to get to London and pay for a hotel too!) but to be honest there was nothing wrong with the view from here but, if you are scared of heights it may not be the best section to sit in as the upper circle is at the top of the building and quite high up!
The tickets start from around £17.50 per person but can go as high as £45. I did see some boxes in the theatre but could find no information on how much it would be to have a box or even if it s possible to hire them!

Interesting facts:
The play as we now know has had its fair share of actors and actresses but, one things that has become something of a tradition is that ever since the retirement of the stars that had been in the play the longest, Mysie Mont and David Raven, the original producer had the idea of changing the cast annually and so every year around November time the cast is changed and the retiring leading lady and the new leading lady cut a Mousetrap cake together.

Even though there is no actor or actress who is still playing a part from the shows beginning in 1952 there is a 'member' who is still a part of it and that is the voice that is played on the stereo which was recorded back before the play started and is the voice of the late Deryck Guyler .

In the original West End cast Richard Attenborough had a part as Sergeant Trotter and his wife, Sheila Sim even had a role as the leading lady Mollie Ralston!

As it stands at current day there has been over 23,000 performances! Wow!


Overall opinion:
I wasn't sure about the play if I'm honest!
Yes the play is good and the cast are great at their roles but it does seem a little dated which of course you'd probably expect as it is quite old! As far as I know the story has not been adapted in any way over the years so maybe this is what gives it that more 'old' feel.
However at the same time it is good -the story is well thought out and written and that's probably why it has been going for so long! People want to know the ending and so people keep going to see it - in fact a lot of visitors from other countries will come over to see this play and so it has gained international status!
My advice is this; don't expect as much as we did! Yes my mum liked it but after waiting over 30 years to go and see it I think she expected 'more' somehow and so was a little disappointed! If on the other hand you want to go and see a great play then by all means go along as it is definitely an entertaining evening and worth the money.

Summary: Worth the money but it is a dated show so don't have too high expectations!