This isn’t just any theatrical production of world-famous, The Mousetrap. It’s the closest experience you will get to watch it as it is performed nine days a week at St Martin’s Theatre in London.
With an eight-member British cast, helmed by artistic director Denise Silvey, flying into Chennai, this show promises epic proportions of Agatha Christie magic. Plot twists are to be expected of course and 67 years after the first show was staged in London’s West End – there still remains nail-biting suspense around who the killer is.
Now you know why this is the longest-running theatrical production in the world.
Silvey (60) who began her journey with the play a decade ago tells us the pressure and high expectations of such an iconic production, come with the territory.
We’re sure every show is special. Will there be anything different about this one?
There is nothing quite like The Mousetrap. For a start, no show has such longevity and we strive to maintain a very high standard so it remains fresh and vibrant. We are totally aware that for most in the audience, this will be their first time of seeing it, so it always has to be ‘in the moment’. Everyone who works on it becomes a part of a huge family, and with this particular production, that is especially so. I chose those cast members who I knew would get on and have all performed the show before last year in Mumbai.
We hear there is one actor who has played all three female characters in the play!
Yes, it’s true! Sarah Whitlock, who plays Mrs Boyle, has played all three female characters over the years. All the actors have acted in the play before in London, but not many of them had worked with each other in the play. I cherry-picked them because I thought that each would bring a certain dynamic to the piece.
We know that it is tradition to have one actor make the audience pledge to keep the secret at the end of the performance. However, this is the age of the Internet, where endings and spoilers are all over the place...
I know it’s tough to compete with the internet, but maybe audiences just don’t want to know? What’s the point of going to see a thriller if you know the ending? It’s like reading a book by starting on the back page. Every performance in London you can hear the entire audience discussing who they think did it at the interval. It’s wonderful to hear that, as when I hear their ideas, if they don’t guess the murderer, I know I’ve done my job correctly.
Did you know?
■ It was originally written by Agatha Christie as a short radio play Three Blind Mice to celebrate the 80th birthday of the late Queen Mary.
■ Agatha Christie gave the rights to The Mousetrap to her nine-year-old grandson, Mathew Prichard, before it opened, without having any idea of the extraordinary phenomenon it would become. In recent years,he has donated them to the benefit of charities for the arts and other causes, especially in Wales. Mathew Prichard CBE is Chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd.
■ In 1959 the cast of The Mousetrap, armed with various props, gave a special performance at Wormwood Scrubs prison. During the performance, two prisoners escaped.
Catch them from November 8-10, at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall.
Tickets available online.