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Although it’s forever associated with the West End, Agatha Christie’s classic stage mystery ‘The Mousetrap’ actually had its first performance in Nottingham, in October 1952, the first stop on a brisk regional tour that culminated in a West End run that began at the Ambassadors Theatre on November 25 – 70 years ago today.
Written by one of the most popular authors of her day, and with a starry original cast headed by Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim, it was obvious that ‘The Mousetrap’ would do fairly well at the box office.
What literally nobody predicted is that it would go on to become by far the longest-running theatre show in history: it’s long outlived Christie herself, and celebrity casting fell by the wayside the best part of a lifetime ago. When it moved theatres in 1974 the show didn’t drop a single performance, and though it was shut by the pandemic (and had to abandon plans for a socially distanced reopening in the autumn of 2020), it returned last May, the second it was allowed to do.
What’s the secret of its longevity? Well it’s an example of a popular genre – murder mystery – that is exceedingly rare in the West End these days. It’s never had a Broadway run – although it’s finally making its debut there next year – and has only toured sporadically, a proper London only tourist attraction. Famously, the twist ending has been relatively well concealed: you could look it up on Wikipedia of course, but at the end the cast urge you not to share it (the original spoiler alert) because Christie stipulated that her own short story version of it couldn’t be published until after the play had closed, and a film couldn't be made until six months after it had closed – famous as the play is, the plot hasn't really disseminated into popular culture. But perhaps most importantly, longevity has simply made it ‘a thing’ – it’s famous for having been on a long time, and with it being literally impossible for any other show to catch up, it will be the longest-running play of all time for as long as it runs. However long that may be, it would be a fool who’d bet against ‘The Mousetrap’ making its centenary.
But for now we bid it a happy birthday, and no spoilers.
‘The Mousetrap’ is at St Martin’s Theatre, booking until Nov 25 2023.