The Mousetrap first opened in 1952 at The Ambassador’s Theatre London and has been running continuously since then. It transferred to St Martin’s Theatre on 25th March, 1974.
The Mousetrap is well known as the world’s longest running play. Tickets have been bought for Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap for over 50 years. The reputation of this murder mystery masterpiece continues to rise as new generations of theatregoers head along to try to see if they can figure out out who is guilty.
The scene is set when a group of people gathered in a remote part of the countryside, realise to their horror, that there is a murderer in their midst. Who can the murderer be in this classic? One by one the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts until at the last, the nerve-wracking moment when the identity and the motive are finally revealed.
The Mousetrap is a brilliant story and an irresistible treat for amateur sleuths everywhere! In her own inimitable style, Dame Agatha Christie has created an atmosphere of suspense and a brilliantly intricate plot where murder lurks around every corner.
The Mousetrap has been thrilling audiences for as long as Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne.
Some cast members are in the Guinness Book of Records, David Raven as the ‘Most Durable actor’ for 4575 performances as Major Metcalf, and Nancy Seabrooke for a record breaking 15 years as an understudy.
Join the millions of people who have already discovered who the murderer is but will not share their secret!
St Martin’s Theatre
West Street
London, WC2H 9NZ
Telephone Bookings 020 7492 1602
Evenings: Monday to Saturday 7.30pm
Matinees: Tuesday 3.00pm and Saturday at 4.00pm
Running Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Age Restrictions: Recommended for ages 12 and over.
Show Opened at St Martin’s Theatre: 25th March 1974
The Mousetrap opened at Ambassadors Theatre on 25th November 1952 and run until Saturday, 23rd March 1974 when it immediately transferred to the larger St Martin’s Theatre, next door, where it reopened on Monday, 25th March thus keeping its “initial run” status.
History of The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play written by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London 25th November 1952, and has been running continuously since then.The play had its 25,000th performance on 18th November 2012.
The Mousetrap is the longest running show. The play is also known for its suspense and ending, which the audience are traditionally asked not to reveal to anyone once they have left the theatre.
The Mousetrap began as a short radio play which was broadcast on 30th May 1947 and called Three Blind Mice in honour of Queen Mary, the consort of King George V.
The play is based on a short story, itself based on the radio play, but Agatha Christie asked that the story not be published as long as it ran as a play in the West End of London. The short story has not been published within the United Kingdom but has been published in the United States in the 1950 collection Three Blind Mice and Other Stories.
When Agatha Christie wrote the play, she gave the rights to her grandson Matthew Prichard as a birthday present. Apart from the West End, only one version of the play can be performed annually and under the contract terms of the play, no film adaptation can be produced until the West End production has been closed for a period of at least six months.
The play had to be renamed at the insistence of Emile Littler who had produced a play called Three Blind Mice in the West End before the Second World War. The idea to call it The Mousetrap came from Christie’s son-in-law, Anthony Hicks.
Last Minute Tickets for The Mousetrap London West End