Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap Continues its Tour in Melbourne

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap continues touring Australia in 2023 to celebrate its 70th Anniversary, produced by John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia and directed by Australian theatre icon Robyn Nevin. The Australian production premiered at Theatre Royal Sydney in October 2022. It next plays at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from 17 February, then His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth from 8 April, Canberra Theatre Centre from 11 May, and Riverside Theatres, Parramatta from 15 June.

Click here to subscribe to Stage Whispers and be in the running to win one of two double passes to the performance at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne on February 19 at 6pm.

International theatre star Anna O’Byrne (My Fair Lady, Love Never Dies) plays Mollie Ralston, the young owner of Monkswell Manor, a Victorian era estate that has recently been converted into a guest house. Helpmann Award winner Alex Rathgeber (Anything Goes, The Phantom of the Opera) plays Giles Ralston, Mollie’s husband of one year. Laurence Boxhall (As You Like It, Jumpy) is Christopher Wren, a flighty and neurotic young guest at Monkswell Manor. As the seriously unpleasant retired magistrate Mrs Boyle, Geraldine Turner (Present Laughter, Don's Party) returns to the stage, alongside Adam Murphy (Shakespeare in Love, Aladdin) as retired British military officer Major Metcalf. In her professional stage debut, Charlotte Friels plays Miss Casewell, who remains mysteriously aloof from the other guests. As Mr Paravicini, an unexpected guest at Monkswell Manor, legendary Gerry Connolly (Cyrano de Bergerac, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui) stars while Belvoir favourite Tom Conroy (Jasper Jones, My Brilliant Career) plays Detective Sergeant Trotter.

Jack Bannister (Romeo and Juliet, Lysa and The Freeborn Dames), Elisa Colla (My Fair Lady, Wicked) and Chris Parker (Daylight Savings, The Club) complete the cast as standbys. The Mousetrap is directed by Australian theatre icon Robyn Nevin. Costume design and associate set design is by Isabel Hudson, and lighting design by Trudy Dalgleish.

The Mousetrap had its world premiere on 6 October 1952 at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. After a brief tour, it opened in London’s West End on 25 November 1952 at the Ambassadors Theatre, where it ran until 23 March 1974. It immediately transferred to the larger St Martin's Theatre next door, where it continues to this day.

The longest-running West End show, it has by far the longest run of any play anywhere in the world, with over 28,500 performances so far. The play has a twist ending, which the audience are traditionally asked not to reveal after leaving the theatre.

Agatha Christie originally wrote the story as a short radio play entitled Three Blind Mice, which was broadcast in 1947 as a birthday present for Queen Mary. She eventually adapted the work into a short story before again rewriting it for the stage as The Mousetrap. Ironically, Christie did not expect the play to run for more than a few months and stipulated that no film of The Mousetrap be made until at least six months after the West End Production closed. 70 years on, as the show continues its historic London run, a film adaptation looks unlikely at this stage.

After a local woman is murdered, the guests and staff at Monkswell Manor find themselves stranded during a snowstorm. It soon becomes clear that the killer is among them, and the seven strangers grow increasingly suspicious of one another. A police detective, arriving on skis, interrogates the suspects: the newlyweds running the house; a spinster with a curious background; an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef; a retired Army major; a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift; and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone. When a second murder takes place, tensions and fears escalate. This record-breaking murder mystery features a brilliant surprise finish from the foremost mystery writer of all time.

For 70 years, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has kept millions of people from every corner of the globe on the edge of their seats. It is the genre-defining murder mystery from the best-selling novelist of all time ... case closed! Can you solve this world-famous mystery for yourself?

Photographer: Brian Geach

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THE MOUSETRAP

Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
17 February – 26 March
Wed-Thurs 7:00pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Wed 1pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 1 & 6pm From $69.00 (Transaction fees apply)
ticketek.com.au or phone 13 28 49
Groups 8+ call (03) 9299 9873

His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth
8 - 16 April 2023
Tues-Thurs 7:00pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Wed 1pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 1 or 3pm From $69.00 (Transaction fees apply)
artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au or (08) 6212 9292

Canberra Theatre Centre
11–21May2023
Tues-Thurs 7:00pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 1pm & 6pm From $69.00 (Transaction fees apply)

canberratheatrecentre.com.au or (02) 6275 2700

Riverside Theatres, Parramatta
15 – 24 June 2023
Tues-Thurs 7:00pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Wed 1pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 1 & 6pm From $69.00 (Transaction fees apply)
riversideparramatta.com.au or (02) 8839 3399