Mousetrap Enters 60th Year

Record-breaking whodunnit, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap entered its 60th year in London on Friday night. To celebrate the fact, producer Sir Stephen Whaley-Cohen pulled the switch to illuminate the front of the St Martin’s Theatre as the assembled crowd of theatregoers toasted the play, the sign and the playwright with several hundred bottles of champagne!

More Information

An historic moment was witnessed by hundreds of theatregoers as The Mousetrap celebrated its 59th birthday and its 24,587th performance. Agatha Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard, was overheard to say "I see no reason why it can't go in for another 60 years." And why not. The play is just as spellbinding as it was when originally commissioned as a radio play for Queen Mary's birthday in 1947.

Producer Sir Stephen Whaley-Cohen (uncle to amateur jockey Sam Whaley-Cohen who won the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup) also announced that, in addition to the London production, The Mousetrap will start a UK tour from September 2012.

The most remarkable thing about the play is the secrecy surrounding the identity of the murderer - the truth having been faithfully kept secret by its audiences all this time: and only in 2010 was grandson Pritchard dismayed to discover that the ending had been published by Wikipedia on the plays wiki page!

Theatre Breaks for the London production are available right through until 15th December 2012.

Core Facts

Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap entered its 60th year on Friday 25th November 2011 with its 24,587th performance
A UK tour of The Mousetrap will start in September 2012
Theatre Breaks for the London production are available right through until 15th December 2012

Images

Quotes

"Sixty isn't the end, I see no reason why it can't go in for another 60 years."

Mathew Prichard - Agatha Christie's grandson

You'd think that something that's been running for so long would be tired, but it isn't.

Our director Geoff Bullen has livened it up a bit and we're playing it for laughs - and we're playing it a bit darker as well... the characters are not two-dimensional, and there are contemporary themes - it's about a child abuse case.

Actress Georgina Sutcliffe, who plays Mollie Ralston in the current London cast