Many of us have become accustomed to evenings in front of the TV, particularly over lockdown, and detective drama has become ever more popular, with shows such as Whitechapel, Line of Duty and Sherlock enjoying great success. But who would pass up the opportunity to watch a creation from the original master of the genre - Agatha Christie - on stage as it celebrates its 70th year in the West End?

The longest running show in any theatre in the world, The Mousetrap begins with seven strangers who are snowed in at a newly opened guesthouse and discover that a suspected murderer is among them, and that they could strike again at any time. As the characters slowly reveal their secrets, it is up to them - and the audience - to find the true killer before it is too late!

Agatha Christie was born in 1890, and was homeschooled for much of her life, as there were few children of her age in Torquay, where the Christie family lived. An enthusiastic reader from a young age, Christie wrote several short stories, some of which she adapted into her later novels. After spending the first world war working in a dispensary as an apothecary's assistant, Christie wrote her first novel in 1916, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced the world to Hercule Poirot, the small, slightly pompous Belgian who would feature in more than thirty of Christie’s novels. Fourteen years later, Miss Marple appeared in a full-length novel for the first time, with the characteristic eye for small details that has become common in many modern day detectives. 

The Mousetrap, however, was a later invention that featured neither of Christie's well loved detectives, and it too has had a remarkable history. Originally predicted by Christie to run for just eight months, she gave the rights to her grandson as a birthday present, along with the stipulation that a film version could not be produced until the West End production had been closed for at least six months. However, the production has never left the West End, even maintaining the initial run status during its transfer from the Ambassador’s theatre to the larger St Martin’s theatre next door. Even though it celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, one member of the cast remains constant - the pre-recorded voice of Deryck Guyler, who plays the news reader, where the original recording is still used at every performance.

One of the things that makes The Mousetrap such a successful play, is the twists and turns which are so characteristic of Christie’s writing, the details of which the audience are traditionally asked to keep a secret after all is revealed. Not only this, but Christie’s script was written so that the characters are endlessly adaptable, meaning each performance is unique and allowing the actors to create an intriguing and captivating performance. As the play has been in St. Martin’s theatre for forty eight years, it creates the atmosphere that you are in the room with the characters, and the set is elaborately constructed so that the theatre feels almost as if it were built for the purpose.

A fascinating experience for all ages, The Mousetrap challenges the audience to find the killer before it is too late, and will be enjoyed by any fan of the detective genre. To quote St. Martins theatre, Have you dunnit?