25 November: The Mousetrap

On this date in 1952 Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap opened in London. The Mousetrap is now the longest running show of any kind in the world. Here are 10 things you might not know about it:

1. The play is set in the Great Hall of Monkswell Manor, which has recently been converted into a guesthouse, in what Christie described as "the present".
2. For her 80th birthday, Queen Mary asked for a radio play written by Agatha Christie, who was happy to oblige with a play called Three Blind Mice, which was never published as a book. There is a short story based on the radio play but it has never been published in the UK as Christie asked for it not to be as long as it ran as a play in the West End of London. It became The Mousetrap because there was already a play called Three Blind Mice by Emile Littler. The suggestion of the new title came from Christie's son-in-law, Anthony Hicks. The phrase "three blind Mice" and the tune are heard several times in the play.
3. The Mousetrap became the longest running show ever on April 12th 1958. The previous record holder was Chu-Chin-Chow, which had ended on its 2,239th performance. In 1957, it had overtaken Noel Coward's play Blithe Spirit, and Coward sent Christie a letter to congratulate her. It read, “Much as it pains me, I really must congratulate you on The Mousetrap breaking the long-run record. All my good wishes. Noel Coward”. Christie stashed it in the back of her 18th century desk where it remained until a furniture restorer discovered it in 2011. Every performance now is a record breaker.
4. Agatha Christie didn't think the play would run for more than eight months.
5. Most of the scenery and props have been replaced several times. The entire set has been replaced at least once in between performances so not a single performance was missed. There are just three things which remain from the first performance: a small Clock on the mantel; a wind machine made from a piece of carpet on a crank – the faster the machine is cranked the more ferocious the wind sounds; and a recording of a newsreader (the late Deryck Guyler).
6. The play has been performed in 27 languages in more than 50 countries. More than 460 actors and actresses have appeared in it, with some cast members making the Guinness Book of Records. David Raven as the 'Most Durable Actor' for 4575 performances as Major Metcalf and Nancy Seabrooke for a record breaking 15 years as an understudy. She understudied the character of Mrs Boyle for 15 years and only got to go on 72 times before stepping down in 1994. She holds the record for the world’s longest serving understudy.
7. The original cast of the play included Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim. Mysie Monte and David Raven both made history by remaining in the cast for more than 11 years, in their roles as Mrs Boyle and Major Metcalf, but since they retired the cast is changed every year, usually in November around the time of the show's anniversary. There is a tradition of the retiring leading lady and the new leading lady cutting a "Mousetrap cake" together. The 25,000th performance in 2012 saw a one-off cast of famous names including Hugh Bonneville, Nicholas Farrell, Iain Glen, Tamsin Greig, Miranda Hart, Harry Lloyd, Sir Patrick Stewart and Dame Julie Walters.
8. In 1959 there was a special performance at Wormwood Scrubs prison. During the performance, two prisoners escaped.
9. There has never been a film version, because the contract terms of the play state that no film version can be made until the West End show has been closed for at least six months. Although it was closed for over a year in 2020/21 because of the coronavirus plague, so in theory they could have made a film then, but the plague meant film production ground to a halt like everything else in the whole world. Performances resumed in May 2021.
10. I'm not going to tell you whodunnit. I know, because I've seen the play and was asked, as all audience members are at the end of each performance, 'to preserve the tradition of The Mousetrap by keeping the secret locked in their hearts.' If you really want to know, though, Wikipedia reveals the twist ending.

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