THEATRE REVIEW: The Mousetrap ★★★★

The Mousetrap
The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Friday 11th April 2014

Performing in its 60th Year, The Mousetrap entered its first ever UK Tour back at the end of January in Salisbury, and in April I managed to catch the show at The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham. The story is centered around the death of a woman in London, who is murdered by a person in a black hat, black coat and scarf. The play is now set in Monkswell Manor Guest House, and every guest that enters is ironically wearing the descripted clothing that the murderer was wearing. Other time we find that the murderer killed whilst whistling 'Three Blind Mice'.

The owners of the guest house are Molly and Giles Ralston, and the guests we are introduced to are Christopher Ren, Mrs Boyle, Major Metcalf, Miss Casewell, and finally Mr Paravicini. Soon into the play the police phone inquiring on coming to the guest house, and soon after Detective Sargent Trotter enters the guest house to question the guests on the murder of the previous woman. The whole success for the show, and the reason why its lasted for so many years, is due to the secrecy of the murderer, and the twist ending, so talking about this play even further could give away too much information. So without giving too much away, The Mousetrap is a brilliant murder mystery play, which will leave you guessing to the identity of the murderer right through till the end, and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This is a definitely a show I would pay to see again, just for the adrenaline, and finding the hints and clues as to show the murderer is earlier on in the show.

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