A Friday Night on the West End

Everyone loves a good murder mystery, right? And who better than the queen of the mystery herself, Agatha Christie, to whisk you away for a couple of hours to a world where you question everything and trust no one. I was priviledged enough to get a chance to see Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap," and it made for a most enjoyable evening. The play currently holds the impressive title of the longest running play in the world; it opened in London's West End in 1952, and has been running continuously since then, logging over 24,500 performances.

The show is incredibly charming. It is set in a small, newly-opened guesthouse in the country about a half an hour outside London. It is the first time that the couple running the establishment have had any guests. As their guests arrive one by one, shivering and cranky because of the blizzard outside, it becomes quickly apparent that all of them are, to put it lightly, incredibly odd. News comes (via wireless) to the house that there was a murder  in London earlier that day, and before too long, a policeman shows up at the house , with news that there were clues found at the scene of the crime indicating that the murderer was next going to strike at that very guesthouse. Panic strikes, of course, when the policeman states that he believes the murder is one of the people already at the house. The guests are trapped in by the snow, and unable to communicate due to someone cutting the phone lines. Suspects are questioned, stories overlap, and one of the guests is murdered. Only after an entire second act of interrogation does it start to become apparent who is responsible for the murders. Trust me...you'd be surprised. :)

Isn't the house just beautiful? I adore all the dark wood; it's all very sleek and masculine. It sets up a very nice tone for the show.

"The Mousetrap" is one of my very favorite plays. I love the charming setting, the witty dialog, the suspense, and the twist ending. I've seen it performed about 5 of 6 times now, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. A big part of the show is, obviously, the twist ending, which I will kindly not reveal here; in fact, audiences are asked at the end of every performance not to reveal the identity of the murderer to those who haven't seen the show. I still really enjoyed the show even though I was completely aware the whole time who the murderer was. It was almost more fun that way, because I was constantly on the watch for little things that he/she was doing, sly things that other audience members wouldn't catch if they didn't know to look for it.

 

It was so much fun to see a show that has been a part of the West End for so many years, set in a place not so far away from the city where I'm living, brought to life by actors who had authentic accents (the last time I saw the show, it was in central Missouri). If you ever are in London and want a night at the theatre that plunges you into a world that is beautifuly British, full of mystery and surprise, I definetly recommend that you check out Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap."

This is a promo video from another production of The Mousetrap...not the production that I saw on the west end.

Till next time,
Jenna Light