The Mousetrap

A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

The Mousetrap

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4w, 4m

A snowstorm traps a group of strangers with an unknown killer in the world’s longest running play.

Image: 2020 Court Theatre Production (Michael Brosilow)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
The Mousetrap

Details

Summary

Note: Concord Theatricals proudly licences The Mousetrap in many countries around the globe. Please note that in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, this title is unavailable for licensing while the original production continues to play in the West End.

A group of strangers is stranded in a boarding house during a snow storm, one of whom is a murderer. The suspects include the newly married couple who run the house, and the suspicions in their minds nearly wreck their perfect marriage. Others are a spinster with a curious background, an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef, a retired Army major, a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift, and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone. Into their midst comes a policeman, traveling on skis. He no sooner arrives, when the jurist is killed. Two down, and one to go. To get to the rationale of the murderer's pattern, the policeman probes the background of everyone present, and rattles a lot of skeletons. Another famous Agatha Christie switch finish! Chalk up another superb intrigue for the foremost mystery writer of her time.

History
The Mousetrap was originally presented by Peter Saunders at the Ambassadors Theatre in London on November 25th, 1952. 
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
MOLLIE RALSTON
GILES RALSTON
CHRISTOPHER WREN
MRS. BOYLE
MAJOR METCALF
MISS CASEWELL
MR. PARAVICINI
DETECTIVE SERGEANT TROTTER
  • Time Period Present Day
  • Setting

    The Great Hall at Monkswell Manor; the present. 

  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

“A still-marvelous whodunit... fiendishly fabulous... The Moustrap deserves to make a killing.” – Chicago Sun-Times

The Mousetrap, of course, is a masterpiece of misdirection. Thriller writers are like magicians and mind readers; the best of them constantly persuade you to look in the wrong direction, to think about anything but the actual logic of the plot. Of all the stage versions of Christie’s books, The Mousetrap is by far the best, perhaps because of its genesis as a radio play. – The Chicago Tribune

The Mousetrap is not a star vehicle; the play and its author are the stars.” – The Guardian

ON BREAKING CHARACTER
Play by Play: The Theatrical Works of Agatha Christie
1 September 2025

Waiting for Poirot
by Chris Chan
29 July 2019

Gotcha! THE MOUSETRAP Captures Audiences for 60 Years
by Alison Sundstrom
5 November 2012

Photos

  • The Mousetrap

    Image: 2020 Court Theatre Production (Michael Brosilow)

  • The Mousetrap

    Image: 2020 Court Theatre Production (Michael Brosilow)

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £85 per performance plus VAT when applicable.
    Performance rights for this title are currently withdrawn in the UK. To be informed as soon as it becomes available in the future, please submit a license application.

Scripts

Available Formats:

Authors

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and, in many languages, outsold only by the Bible and Shake ...

View full profile

Now Playing

Related