Theatre Royal Brighton – until 29th October 2022
Reviewed by Sue Bradley
4****
The National Institution that is The Mousetrap is now 70 years old and its appearance in Brighton is part of a national tour that will take in over 70 venues.
The Mousetraptells a nowfamiliar tale – in fact, it has become almost a meme – from the short story Three Blind Mice, first published in 1947 and then included in the 1950’s collection of short stories by Agatha Christie. It brings together a diverse set of characters, each with a secret or two to hide, and traps them in a snow-bound manor house. One of them may be a murderer…
There are good reasons why this play has had such a long life. At its premiere, it pretty much defined the genre of murder-mystery with a twist, and whilst the trope may have been copied and developed many times, this is still the original and worth seeing for that fact alone.
Watching this production really felt like reading the book. We are treated to an almost comforting depiction of a bygone era. The set and the characters made you feel like you were curling up with a good book in front of a warm fire on a cold winters day. Whilst there is no obvious attempt to bring the characters or dialogue up to date, this production handles the plot twists and turns with a light touch and there are many gentle laughs and comic moments.
From the hoity-toity Mrs Boyle (Gwyneth Strong), the forceful Sergeant Trotter (Joseph Reed) to the mumbling Major Metcalf (Todd Carty, better known many of the audience as Tucker from Grange Hill or Mark Fowler from Eastenders,) and the hyper-energetic Cristopher Wren (Elliot Clay), the cast were clearly having fun. A special mention for Kieran Brown, standing in as Mr Paravicini, whose comic villainy was very watchable and gave no hint that he is the understudy for the part, standing in for John Altman (who played Nick Cotton, again from Eastenders).
This production played to a packed and very appreciative house; the roar of applause at the end was almost deafening. And, as to Whodunnit? Well, in keeping with the now traditional plea from the cast not to reveal the ending, I will only say that, to find out the secret of the longevity of this play, you should come and see it for yourself!