IT'S probably fair to say there’s quite an appetite for murder mysteries among UK audiences.
From the likes of Miss Marple, Poirot and Vera, to the more modern Line of Duty, Unforgotten and Silent Witness, crime dramas feature strongly in any list of top, long-running TV series.
However, they are unlikely to ever match the longest-running play in the world which is enthralling and entertaining audiences at Dunfermline’s Alhambra Theatre this week.
The Mousetrap, first performed in Nottingham in October 1952, is currently enjoying a 70th-anniversary tour by playing at over 70 theatres around the country.
READ MORE: Alhambra hosts 70th anniversary tour of The Mousetrap
This week, audiences in Dunfermline get the chance to become amateur detectives and solve the mystery, so, knowing very little about The Mousetrap, other than it’s a murder mystery written by Agatha Christie and, to me anyway, seemed to have a passing resemblance to the board game Cluedo, I took the opportunity to find out more about its long-running appeal.
So, what can I say about The Mousetrap? Well, not a lot really, if I don’t want to give away the plot.
The story begins with news of a murder in London, and around the same time, at Monkswell Manor, a newly-opened countryside guest house, a group of seven strangers find themselves snowed in.
When a police sergeant arrives the guests discover, to their horror, that a killer is in their midst. But who is it? And who is their next victim? Well, a visit to The Alhambra this week will reveal all…
Gripping and intriguing, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep audiences guessing.
My own theories of who was the killer and the motives for their deeds proved wildly inaccurate, but my super sleuth wife had already identified the murderer by the time we got to the interval!
READ MORE: Ex-EastEnder Todd Carty leads Mousetrap in Dunfermline
Todd Carty, best known for his roles in Grange Hill and Eastenders, is excellent in the role of Major Metcalf, while the rest of the cast - Hollie Sullivan and Barnaby Jago as the Ralstons, owners of the guest house, Shaun McCourt as Christopher Wren, Judith Rae as the cantankerous Mrs Boyle, Amy Spinks as Miss Casewell, Steven Elliott as Mr Paravicini, and Michael Ayiotis as Sergeant Trotter, are all equally impressive.
Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap continues its run at the Alhambra Theatre until Saturday (June 1).
For tickets and more information, visit the Alhambra’s website.
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