London’s Oldest Show Premieres in Australia 2012 -The Mousetrap

BREAKING NEWS

It’s 60 years since Agatha Christie’s iconic murder mystery play The Mousetrap opened on London’s West End and in 2012, the show will tour down under for the very first time as part of a worldwide Diamond (60th) Anniversary celebration.

Move over The Phantom of The Opera, Les Miserables and The Fantasticks –  The Mousetrap is the longest running show of any kind in the world, having played over 24,000 performances on the West End since 1952.

The Mousetrap makes it way to Australia this year with seasons confirmed in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne, presented by Michael Coppel, Louise Withers and Linda Bewick in association with Adrian Barnes.

Sydney Theatre, Walsh Bay will host the Australian Premiere production on June 30. The show will transfer to Perth’s His Majesty’s Theatre from August 14 and Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from August 30.

While only three cities have been announced, it is understood that additional seasons and dates of this all-Australian production will be confirmed in the near future. Casting details will also be announced later in the year.

“On behalf of my producing partners it’s a privilege to be presenting the first ever professional tour of The Mousetrap in Australia as the show celebrates its Diamond Anniversary”, said Producer Louise Withers.

“The Mousetrap is a theatrical phenomenon and we’re thrilled to be mounting this all-Australian production as part of the global celebrations as the show plays into its 60th year on London’s West End.”
Every continent will host productions of the classic Christie “whodunit” with productions scheduled for countries from Russia and China to Turkey, Holland and Venezuela.
The Australian tour will be one of 60 professional productions mounted worldwide for the 60th Anniversary of the show, which was originally written as a radio play entitled Three Blind Mice by Agatha Christie and broadcast in 1947. Christie 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 six months after the West End Production closed. As the show celebrates its 60th anniversary and continues its historic London run a film adaptation looks unlikely.

The show continues to delight audiences to this day at London’s St. Martin’s Theatre.

THE MOUSETRAP
At Monkswell Manor, the news on the radio reports that a murder that has recently taken place in London. Mollie and Giles Ralston, the young owners of the once-regal estate recently converted into a guesthouse, hardly notice the news. They are far too busy preparing for the arrival of their first guests and concerned that the heavy snowfalls may prevent the guests reaching their destination. As the guests arrive safely and the Manor becomes snowed in, a policeman arrives on skis suspecting that one of the seven occupants may be the killer. After a second murder occurs in the Manor, Sergeant Trotter is convinced. Suspects include the young married couple, a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired army major, and an unexpected visitor who claims his car has run into a snowdrift. During his interrogation, Sergeant Trotter uncovers the many mysterious secrets of everyone present, as he tries to solve the murder in true Christie style.