THE Mousetrap has been on stage for over 60 years now, making the play a cornerstone of British theatre.
The lavish set fits in brilliantly with the aesthetic of the Grand Opera House on the curtain rising in the Edwardian theatre. However, it’s not just appearances which makes the performance tick and audiences will be happy to feel the same thrill as crowds 60 years ago did in a play which definitely holds up in terms of tension and suspense.
Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap has inspired several pastiches and parodies of murder mysteries over the years. However, the cast work well not to play up to the legacy the play has left behind, and their commitment to keeping it as “straight” as can be played is what makes it so compelling.
Christie's dark sense of humour is emphasised throughout. Most of Act One could be a classic farce: secret staircases and characters climbing through windows. Oliver Gully’s Christopher Wren may appear charming and lively at first but Gully becomes increasingly more crazed, putting the audience on edge.
Tony Boncza as Major Metcalf in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. Picture: Liza Maria Dawson
Laughter turns nervous when Gregory Cox’s comically over-the-top Paravicini begins to advance sinisterly on Anna Andresen’s Mollie. When a gloved hand appears around the door, the play takes a darker turn. The constant teetering between comedy and murder is what keeps The Mousetrap gripping until the last moment.
Andresen and Nick Barclay have a delightful chemistry on stage as Mollie and Giles Ralston, newlyweds and new guesthouse managers whose amiable temperaments turn sour as the play advances. Barclay has an excellent command of comic timing one scene and brutish impatience the next, which complements Andresen’s almost helpless Mollie very well.
Louise Jameson is a fine Mrs Boyle, bristling with negative energy before there is even any cause for distrust in the plot. Tony Boncza and Amy Downham play Major Metcalf and Miss Casewell more subtly, helping to build suspicion in contrast to melodramatic turns from Gully and Cox.
Louise Jameson as Mrs Boyle and Oliver Gully as Christopher Wren in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. Picture: Liza Maria Dawson
Lewis Collier adds vitality to the second act as Detective Sergeant Trotter. He gives a good range, almost mirroring the audience’s frustration at being utterly clueless as to who the killer is. Some of the dialogue in the script is now a little passé or repetitive, but the real tension comes in the gradual teasing of character development and plot twists.
Of course I cannot reveal the ending, but it does come with its fair share of twists and turns, which makes for an entertaining climax. I would recommend seeing The Mousetrap at least once: while more sceptical spectators might find the production somewhat dated, its central murder plot is still compelling and given a new lease of life by a talented ensemble.
Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, Grand Opera House York, until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york
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