The Mousetrap (Sunderland)

Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap is an iconic piece of theatre, which is still running in London after sixty years. Billed as the First Ever UK Tour and Diamond Anniversary Tour, this production is visiting practically every theatre in the UK and continues until summer 2014. However, the play did tour prior to arriving in London all those years ago, with the North East being one of its final destinations before the West End.

The Mousetrap is set in the lounge of a high quality bed and breakfast, the Monks Well Guest House, on its opening day. Snow is falling heavily, so as the guests arrive we know they will snowed in …

You cannot surpass this play on the whodunit front of course. This is the leader that all others try to follow. Each guest and the owners (Mollie and Giles Ralston) appear to be hiding something and on the radio in the lounge everyone hears there has been a murder in London, just thirty miles away. The first half has many humorous moments, moves along at a cracking pace and sets the scene for the inevitable murder.

But after the interval, things slow down as we try to discover the murderer, who has to be staying at the Monkswell. Bluff and double bluff are the order of the day, as all the characters are interviewed by the Police.

This does seem very ponderous in this day and age to say the least, but you cannot change an iconic play. Although it is fun listening to people in the interval try and guess who the murderer is (they were all wrong) and at the end try to convince others they knew all along. At the final curtain we are asked not to give the identity of the murderer away.

With the exception of Karl Howman (Jacko from Brushstrokes) there are no recognisable cast members, but that does not detract from any performance. All the actors are excellent in their roles. The set is period perfect and looks all new and shiny, while the sound is noticeably excellent (operated by Will Jackson) crisp, clear and not over amplified.

I saw this play many years ago in London (so I knew who the murderer was from the start) and it's great to see it is now packing out theatres across the UK. But I still don't see how this has become the longest running piece of theatre in the world.