Here is the stage where theatrical history continues to unfold every single night, a murder mystery that has been solving the same crime for over 70 years without ever revealing its secret. The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie is a whodunit play where guests at a remote countryside guesthouse discover a killer is among them during a snowstorm. What began as a 20 minute radio play written for Queen Mary's 80th birthday in 1947 became the longest running show in world theatre history.
Christie herself thought it would close after just 8 months. The play premiered on November 25, 1952 at the Ambassadors Theatre with actors Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim in the leading roles. After 21 years and 8,862 performances, it moved in 1974 to the intimate St Martin's Theatre on West Street in the charming Seven Dials area, where it has remained ever since without missing a single performance. Christie gave the rights as a birthday gift to her 9 year old grandson Mathew Prichard, never imagining it would become a fortune.
The play has now been performed over 30,000 times and seen by more than 10 million people. At the end of every performance, audiences are asked to keep the shocking twist ending secret, a tradition honoured for seven decades.
Sources. Story: Source Story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mousetrap https://www.agathachristie.com/en/news/2019/agatha-christies-the-mousetrap-the-facts Photos: Source Photo: User:Homonihilis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
