THE MOUSETRAP...

Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' is the longest running show in the world, having run continuously in London's West End since 1952.  Written especially for the stage, and never released as a book or film, the play was supposed to be called Three Blind Mice, but had to be renamed as a play of that name had been shown before the war, and the producer insisted.

Set in Monkswell Manor- a boarding house- a detective appears and informs the gathered occupants that a murder has taken place at a London flat.  A notebook is found at the scene of the crime, with Monkswell Manor's address contained within it along with the reference, 'Three Blind Mice.'  Pinned to the dead person's body is a note saying, 'This is the first...'  The cute nursery rhyme theme is given a sinister bent as it is played, at intervals throughout the play.  The second murder takes place in the Manor... but I'm not telling you who!  This means that, of the remaining six occupants, everyone is a suspect and everyone a potential victim...

This play has attracted some criticism, and some have mentioned that it's old, tired, and should be retired.  I disagree!  It's typical Agatha Christie and is very contemporary for the time in which it was written, so if you like her work you will love this.  With a small cast of eight actors and the same set shown throughout, it is very simply performed with the classic Christie 'line-up and summing up' at the end.

St. Martin's Theatre is very small, with a lovely Art Deco bar behind the stalls.  I booked cheap tickets for a Thursday afternoon matinee, as an early Valentine's present for my SuperDean.  They cost £19.50 each for the Upper Gallery, right on the back row but they were refurbishing that section on the day so we were upgraded to the stalls, row C.  These seats usually sell for £52.50 each.  Result!😃  For this performance at a quiet time of year, week and day, the theatre was about 60% full, so that explains why the show's still running- if it didn't attract patronage it would cease to exist.

I found the story gripping and the actors certainly did their jobs properly and were very convincing.  What little special effects there were (mainly the weather) were fine.  Yes, if you want bells and whistles; space-age strobe lighting; ever-changing scenery; ear-splitting vocals; modern technology; gimmicks and fancy moves then this is not for you.  But it does what it says on the tin and had the classic Agatha ending twist that I did not see coming.  Then another twist.  I did manage to work out who the 'long-lost sister' was.  But, to the true, secretive nature of the play, if you're going to ask me who the murderer was, then I couldn't possibly comment....

Here is my picture of the theatre...

I did look into going to the much-talked-about Ivy restaurant.  They do a three course set menu for £28.50, which is not extortionate, giving the pretentiousness sometimes associated with this celebrity haunt...

...But the menu didn't excite me that much and the timings of the sittings wouldn't have worked with our matinee.  I can see where they really make their money, and that's through the drinks- even a teeny-tiny glass of wine would set you back six quid.  They also do that thing of adding 12.5% service to the bill, which I HATE.  If I want to tip, I'll decide exactly how much, thank you very much.

So, we headed back to Ilford and had a lovely Indian meal and a delicious bottle of house white at the Golden Curry, followed by an Irish Coffee.  Superb!

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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