Arts Club Theatre Company resets Agatha Christie classic The Mousetrap, June 26 to August 10

With audiences sworn to secrecy over a decades-long run, the mystery at the heart of author’s most famous whodunit endures

By Olivia Hart

Agatha Christie, actor Ming Hudson, and director Stephen Drover (photo by Emily Cooper)

The Arts Club Theatre Company presents The Mousetrap at the Granville Island Stage from June 26 to August 10

ONE OF THE GREAT whodunit stories is heading for the Vancouver stage this summer.

Now in the 73rd year of its run in London’s West End, Agatha Christie’s genre-defining murder mystery The Mousetrap will be presented by the Arts Club Theatre Company at the Granville Island Stage from June 26 to August 10.

On a dark night, seven strangers find themselves snowed in at Monkswell Manor, a Victorian-era estate, where news spreads of a murder in London. With the arrival of a police sergeant, it becomes clear that the killer is among them and everyone is a suspect. As tensions and fears escalate, the characters—and audience—grapple to solve the murder before another takes place. This record-breaking mystery ends with a surprise, and audiences are sworn to secrecy on leaving the theatre. 

This production features stars includiong Ming Hudson as Mollie Ralston, the proprietor of Monkswell Manor, and Jay Clift as Giles, Mollie’s husband of one year. There’s also Zander Eke as Christopher Wren, a neurotic young guest; Charlie Gallant as Detective Sergeant Trotter; Beatrice Zeilinger as the matronly Mrs. Boyle; Andrew McNee as the mysterious gentleman Mr. Paravicini; and many more. Director Stephen Drover is at the helm. Costume design is by Nancy Bryant and set design by Patrick Rizzotti, with lighting by Itai Erdal and sound by MJ Coomber. 

With over thirty thousand performances so far, The Mousetrap is by far the longest-running play in the world. The show began as a 20-minute radio play titled Three Blind Mice, before being adapted into a full-length stage play and premiering in London in 1952. 

Christie did not expect the play to run for long and stipulated that no film adaptation of The Mousetrap be made until at least six months after the production closed. More than 70 years on, the show continues its historic run, with no sign of a movie adaptation anytime soon.

---

Related Articles