BTG’s 2025 production of The Mousetrap was among the latest performances of this play’s continuous, record-breaking run lasting over 70 years. The legendary play’s history began when Queen Mary was approaching her 80th birthday on May 26, 1947, BBC wanted to do a special radio broadcast as a tribute to her. The broadcasting company inquired about what the Queen would like, expecting to produce an opera or Shakespeare play for her, but her reply surprised them all. She requested a brand new Agatha Christie play. As a result, Agatha Christie wrote a thirty-minute play for Queen Mary’s birthday, which Agatha called Three Blind Mice.
Soon after the radio play’s broadcast, Agatha turned it into a short story. Three Blind Mice was published in the United States in Cosmopolitan magazine in May 1948 and as a short story collection titled Three Blind Mice and Other Stories.
A couple years later, in 1952, Agatha saw the potential for expanding Three Blind Mice into a full length play, adding some extra characters, as well as a broader background and plot. Since Emile Littler’s production, Three Blind Mice, had just previously run on the stage, Agatha felt pressured to change her own play’s name. Her son-in-law, Anthony Hicks, suggested the name “The Mousetrap,” and so a legend was born.
History of The Mousetrap
On October 6, 1952, The Mousetrap had its world premiere at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham, England. It subsequently visited several other theatres in England before opening in London at the Ambassadors Theatre on November 25, 1952, which was produced by Peter Saunders.
Richard Attenborough, known today for his roles in films such as Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Jurassic Park (1993) and Doctor Dolittle (1967), was cast as Detective Sergeant Trotter. Alongside Attenborough was his fellow film star and beloved wife, Sheila Sim (Mollie Ralston), and actors Martin Miller (Mr. Paravicini), Jessica Spencer (Miss Casewell), Aubrey Dexter (Major Metcalf), Mignon O’Doherty (Mrs. Boyle), Allan McClelland (Christopher Wren) and John Paul (Giles Ralston).
After eighteen months, Attenborough left the production, which would have been a death blow to most new plays. But, even with no star-studded names, The Mousetrap strode triumphantly on. And on. And on. The Mousetrap eventually held its 1,000th performance on April 22, 1955, and, on September 13, 1957, the play marked its 1,998th performance, making it the longest-running straight play in the history of British theatre. Almost exactly 3 years after its 1,000th performance, the production reached its 2,239th performance on April 12, 1958, thereby becoming the longest-ever running play in London.
The Mousetrap made big waves outside of England as well, as the play was also being presented internationally. BTG, back then known as Berkshire Theatre Festival, produced The Mousetrap in 1958 at The Berkshire Playhouse, directed by S. Wesley McKnee with the cast of Paula Bauersmith, Barbara Brady, Hazel Jones, Keir Dullea, Bruce Hall, Paul Hinxmann, Mac Morgan and John Straub. Since its 1952 world premiere, The Mousetrap has been performed in more than 50 countries throughout the world, has been translated in over 25 languages and is still standing as the longest-running play. The Mousetrap has been running for over 70 years, and the popular play has no signs of stopping.
Looking back at the play’s history, it is hard to imagine that Agatha Christie herself did not think that the play would run for more than 8 months. Now, more than 10 million people have seen the play in London alone. When once asked “Is The Mousetrap being kept on to beat more records?” Agatha replied in bewilderment, “What records are there to beat?”
About Agatha Christie
Dubbed the “Queen of Mystery,” Agatha Christie, born on September 15, 1890 in Torquay, England, was an author and playwright known for books such as Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, as well as characters like Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Agatha published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920 and went on to become one of the most famous writers in history with plays, short stories and novels published both under her own name and her pseudonym, Mary Westmacott. She died on January 12, 1976 at age 85 and remains one of the top-selling authors ever, with her combined works selling more than 2 billion copies worldwide.
Agatha’s family consisted of her father, Frederick Miller, mother Clara and two older siblings: brother Monty and sister Madge. Agatha was home-schooled by her father, but her mother, who was an excellent storyteller, did not want Agatha to learn to read until she was eight. However, Agatha, who was extremely intelligent and was the only child at home, taught herself to read by the age of five.
In October 1912, Agatha met Archibald “Archie” Christie at a dance, was swept off her feet and engaged to him in 1913. At the outset of World War I, Archie was stationed in France as a pilot, while Agatha served as a nurse in a Red Cross Hospital in Torquay. The couple married on December 24, 1914 and they relocated to London at the conclusion of the war. Rosalind, Agatha and Archie’s only child, was born in August 1919.
Agatha’s writing career blossomed as she published her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920 while growing her family. Inspired by her recollections of thousands of Belgian refugees who fled to settle in England during World War I, the story introduced readers to one of Christie’s most famous characters: Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Poirot returned in The Murder on the Links (1923) and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926). The 1926 book became an instant hit that was later marked as Agatha’s career-defining novel and one of her all-time favorite works.
That same year, however, her marriage began crumbling when Archie revealed that he had begun an affair with his fellow golfer and family friend, Nancy Neele. Earlier that year, Agatha’s mother had also passed away, and Agatha began a depressive, downward spiral. On December 3, 1926, the author left her home without a single word, setting off a nationwide search for her. On December 14, a stranger recognized Agatha at the Swan Hydro Hotel in Harrogate, where she had checked in using the name Theresa Neele. She was found having no recollection of the prior 11 days and had no idea who Archie was when he picked her up at the hotel. Apparently suffering from either amnesia, trauma or severe depression, Agatha ultimately recovered and finally divorced Archie in 1928.
After this time, Agatha never viewed writing the same way again. She no longer viewed it as a pleasure, but as a burdensome profession. Agatha found a little joy in writing again when she decided to write her first novel, Giant’s Bread, under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. The pseudonym gave Agatha the freedom to write more heartfelt, personal pieces about her life’s experiences.
Surprisingly for a single woman at this time, Agatha began travelling alone, meeting plenty of interesting characters along the way. In 1930, Agatha remarried with archaeology professor Max Mallowan, with whom she traveled on several expeditions. Her trips, both solo and with Max, inspired many of her novels, including two of her most famous novels in America: Murder on the Orient Express (1934) and Death on the Nile (1937). Agatha later recounts her trips with Max in the 1946 memoir Come, Tell Me How You Live.
Agatha released the novel, Murder at the Vicarage the same year, which became another classic and introduced readers to another one of her most famous characters, Miss Jane Marple. The enquiring village lady was featured in books like The Moving Finger (1942) and A Pocket Full of Rye (1953). Other notable Christie characters, along with Hercule Poirot, include Tuppence and Tommy Beresford, Colonel Race, Parker Pyne and Ariadne Oliver.
Writing well into her later years, Christie’s success as an author of sleuth stories has earned her titles like the “Queen of Crime” and the “Queen of Mystery.” She also wrote romance novels like Unfinished Portrait (1934) and A Daughter’s a Daughter (1952) under Mary Westmacott. Christie was a renowned playwright as well, with works like The Hollow (1951), Verdict (1958) and, of course, The Mousetrap (1952).
Queen Elizabeth II bestowed Christie with damehood in 1971 for her contributions to literature. Three years later, Christie made her last public appearance for the opening night of the play version of Murder on the Orient Express.
Christie died at her home, Winterbrook House, at age 85 on January 12, 1976. At her death, it was estimated that Christie’s thrillers had sold around 300 million copies. She is buried in the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Cholsey, where she attended worship services.
Agatha Christie’s Works
Over Agatha Christie’s career spanning 56 years, she published 66 detective novels, 20 original plays, 13 plays adapted from her novels and 153 short stories compiled in 14 short story collections. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English and a billion in translation.
List of Works (in chronological order by year):
1920: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot novel)
1922: The Secret Adversary (novel)
1923: The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot novel)
1924: The Man in the Brown Suit (novel) & Poirot Investigates (short story collection)
1925: The Secret of Chimneys (novel)
1926: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot novel)
1927: The Big Four (Hercule Poirot novel)
1928: The Mystery of the Blue Train (Hercule Poirot novel)
1929: Partners in Crime (short story collection) & The Seven Dials Mystery (novel)
1930: Black Coffee (play), Giant’s Bread (novel), The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple novel) & The Mysterious Mr. Quin (short story collection)
1931: The Floating Admiral (anthology with other writers) & The Sittaford Mystery (UK) / The Murder at Hazelmoor (USA) (novel)
1932: Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot novel), The Stranger (play) & The Thirteen Problems (UK) / The Tuesday Night Murders (USA) (Miss Marple short story collection)
1933: Ask a Policeman (anthology with other writers), The Hound of Death (short story collection) & Lord Edgware Dies (UK) / Thirteen at Dinner (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel)
1934: The Listerdale Mystery (short story collection), Murder on the Orient Express (UK) / Murder in the Calais Coach (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel), Parker Pyne Investigates (UK) / Mr Parker Pyne – Detective (USA) (short story collection), Unfinished Portrait (semi-autobiographical novel) & Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (UK) / The Boomerang Clue (USA) (novel)
1935: Death in the Clouds (UK) / Death in the Air (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel) & Three Act Tragedy (UK) / Murder in Three Acts (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel)
1936: The A.B.C. Murders (Hercule Poirot novel), Cards on the Table (Hercule Poirot novel), Murder in Mesopotamia (Hercule Poirot novel) & Six Against the Yard (anthology with other writers)
1937: Akhnaton (play), Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot novel), Dumb Witness (UK) / Poirot Loses a Client (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel) & Murder in the Mews (UK) / Dead Man’s Mirror (USA) (Hercule Poirot short story collection)
1938: Appointment with Death (Hercule Poirot novel) & Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (UK) / Murder for Christmas (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel)
1939: And Then There Were None (novel), Murder Is Easy (UK) / Easy to Kill (USA) (novel) & The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (Parker Pynes, Hercule Poirot & Miss Marple short story collection)
1940: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (UK) / The Patriotic Murders (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel) & Sad Cypress (Hercule Poirot novel)
1941: Evil Under the Sun (Hercule Poirot novel) & N or M? (novel)
1942: The Body in the Library (Miss Marple novel), Five Little Pigs (UK) / Murder in Retrospect (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel), The Moving Finger (Miss Marple novel), Murder on the Nile (Hercule Poirot play)
1943: And Then There Were None (play)
1944: Absent in the Spring (novel), Death Comes as the End (novel) & Towards Zero (novel)
1945: Appointment with Death (Hercule Poirot play) & Sparkling Cyanide (UK) / Remembered Death (USA) (novel)
1946: The Hollow (Hercule Poirot novel)
1947: The Labours of Hercules (Hercule Poirot short story collection)
1948: The Rose and the Yew Tree (novel), Taken at the Flood / There Is a Tide (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel) & The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (Hercule Poirot short story collection)
1949: Crooked House (novel)
1950: A Murder Is Announced (Miss Marple novel) & Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (Miss Marple & Poirot short story collection)
1951: The Hollow (play), They Came to Baghdad (novel) & The Under Dog and Other Stories (Hercule Poirot short story collection)
1952: A Daughter’s a Daughter (novel), Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (Hercule Poirot novel), The Mousetrap (play) & They Do It with Mirrors (UK) / Murder with Mirrors (USA) (Miss Marple novel)
1953: After the Funeral (UK) / Funerals Are Fatal (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel), A Pocket Full of Rye (Miss Marple novel) & Witness for the Prosecution (play)
1954: Destination Unknown (UK) / So Many Steps to Death (USA) (novel), Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly (Hercule Poirot novel) & Spider’s Web (play)
1955: Hickory Dickory Dock (UK) / Hickory, Dickory, Death (USA) (Hercule Poirot novel)
1956: The Burden (novel), Dead Man’s Folly (Hercule Poirot novel) & Towards Zero (play)
1957: 4.50 from Paddington (UK) / What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! (USA) (Miss Marple novel)
1958: Ordeal by Innocence (novel), The Unexpected Guest (play) & Verdict (play)
1959: Cat Among the Pigeons (Hercule Poirot novel)
1960: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and Other Stories (Miss Marple & Hercule Poirot short story collection) & Go Back for Murder (play)
1961: Double Sin and Other Stories (short story collection), The Pale Horse & The Rule of Three (play), Afternoon at the Seaside (play), The Patient (novel) & The Rats (play)
1962: The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (Miss Marple novel)
1963: The Clocks (Hercule Poirot novel)
1964: A Caribbean Mystery (Miss Marple novel)
1965: At Bertram’s Hotel (Miss Marple novel)
1966: Third Girl (Hercule Poirot novel)
1967: Endless Night (novel)
1968: By the Pricking of My Thumbs (novel)
1969: Hallowe’en Party (Hercule Poirot novel)
1970: Passenger to Frankfurt (novel)
1971: The Golden Ball and Other Stories (short story collection) & Nemesis (Miss Marple novel)
1972: Elephants Can Remember (Hercule Poirot novel)
1973: Postern of Fate (novel)
1974: Poirot’s Early Cases (Hercule Poirot short story collection)
1975: Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case (Hercule Poirot novel)
1976: Sleeping Murder (Miss Marple novel, published posthumously)
1979: Miss Marple’s Final Cases and Two Other Stories (Miss Marple short story collection, published posthumously)
1991: Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories (short story collection with Hercule Poirot, published posthumously)
1997: While the Light Lasts and Other Stories (short story collection, published posthumously)
Fun Facts About The Mousetrap
- Agatha Christie gave the rights to The Mousetrap to her grandson Mathew Prichard when he was only nine years old.
- The late Deryck Guyler provided the pre-recorded voice of the newsreader in the first act and the same recording is still used today in every West End performance.
- When The Mousetrap opened, Mr. Winston Churchill was Prime Minister, much essential food was rationed and television programs ended at 10:30pm in England.
- 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.
- Some cast members are in the Guinness Book of Records: David Raven as the ‘Most Durable Actor’ for 4,575 performances as Major Metcalf and the late Nancy Seabrooke for a record breaking 15 years as an understudy.
- In 2000, the original set in the West End was replaced for the first time during the run at St. Martin’s Theatre, which was completed over a weekend without missing a single performance.
- Queen Elizabeth II attended the 50th anniversary performance of The Mousetrap on November 25, 2002.
- On November 18, 2012, for one performance only, The Mousetrap celebrated its 25,000th performance and 60th anniversary with a celebrity-filled cast, including Hugh Bonneville, Nicholas Farrell, Iain Glen, Tamsin Greig, Miranda Hart, Harry Lloyd, Sir Patrick Stewart and Dame Julie Walters.
- On an occasion such as cast changes or milestone anniversary performances in the West End show, a cake is ceremoniously cut with a sword. The cake is in the shape of a ticker counter that keeps track of the amount of performances.
- The contract terms of the play state that no film version can be made until the West End show has been closed for at least six months, and, since it is still running, no official film has been made!
Keeping The Secret
At the conclusion of every performance in England, a member of the cast steps forward to ask the audience to keep the secret of whodunnit locked in their hearts. We at BTG ask you, the audience, to do the same after this performance. As the original play producer, Peter Saunders, wrote in the following poem in a letter to Moore Raymond, Editor of Sunday Dispatch, after he wrote a review of the play in 1852 that revealed the identity of the murderer:
“Mr. Raymond, please behave,
Keep A Secret Till the Grave –
If you give the plot away
Then the Play is shot away…
Don’t you feel some slight remorse
Spoiling Christie’s tour-de-force?”
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