Stage Dragon: The Mousetrap At The Yvonne Arnaud

Published on: 26 Oct, 2016
Updated on: 26 Oct, 2016

I saw Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap in the West End more than 35 years ago, and last night at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre found that it has not lost any of its suspense in the intervening years.

The curtain is down with mysterious music playing while the audience finds their seats. The auditorium goes dark. The curtain rises. A radio is relaying the news of a murder and suddenly the lights go on. The set is reminiscent of a fading gentility of a country house with lots of wood, stone and stained glass.

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Major Metcalf (Tony Boncza) and Mollie Ralston (Anna Andreson) protecting Christopher Wren (Oliver Gully) from hideous accusations. The Mousetrap at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. Photo by Liza Maria Dawson.

One by one, we are introduced to the protagonists.

Firstly, a young couple, Mollie and Giles Ralston (Anna Andresen and Nick Barclay) who are opening their new country hotel today. Married only a year, they are very much in love.

Then their first four paying guests arrive in worsening weather conditions.

A young man, Christopher Wren (Oliver Gully) wearing a Fairisle sweater gushes over the house’s architecture. A middle-aged woman, Mrs. Boyle (Sarah Whitlock) and middle-aged man, Major Metcalf (Tony Boncza) arrive together.

The last to arrive is a young woman, Miss Casewell (Amy Downham).

Each is more mysterious than the last.

An uninvited guest, Mr. Paravicini, appears out of the snow. Finally a call from the police informs them of another impending visitor, Sgt. Trotter (Lewis Collier).

The stage is now set for us to find out who the murderer is.

Of course, each of the cast has their secrets. Hints and clues are set before us to sift through. Can we beat the author and work out who is the killer before we are told by the players?

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Giles Ralston accuses Christopher Wren of murder. In this photo, he looks guilty himself. Photo by Liza Maria Dawson.

The costumes and hair styles are definitely period. The attention to detail in both the costumes and stage set puts the audience into the right frame of mind to accept what they are to witness.

There are as many laughs in the play as there are fraught moments. Much is made of the unfortunate name of Christopher Wren. The audience, which ranged in age from early teens to elderly, tittered, laughed, or sucked in their breath according to the mood on stage.

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Sgt. Trotter interrogates Mr Paravicini while Miss Casewell tries to disapear into the sofa to listen unobtrusively. Photo by Liza Maria Dawson.

All of the characters were well portrayed by their alter egos, the actors. I was impressed not only by the way they spoke their lines, but also by their agility. In and out of windows, upstairs, downstairs, in one door and out another, they must have been exhausted by the end of the performance.

On leaving the auditorium, there was a heightened buzz among the theatregoers.

I would thoroughly recommend going along to see The Mousetrap at the Yvonne Arnaud. You’ll have a very entertaining evening.

The Mousetrap is on at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre until Saturday, October 29. Shows are Thursday at 7:45pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm with matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 2:30pm. You can book tickets online or by telephoning 01483 440000.