The Mousetrap REVIEW 21 Feb 2023 ****

THEATRE

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie

At Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, until 26 March 2023

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ****

This review is published only on this blog. I’ll give a radio review on Arts Weekly, probably on 25 Feb 2023. KH

The full cast of THE MOUSETRAP (c) Brian Geach

The latest Australian version of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is a polished and buoyant production of a deliciously old-fashioned murder mystery with taut, deft direction by Robin Nevin and detailed and nuanced performances by an ensemble comprising several theatre and musical theatre stalwarts and some talented newcomers.

 

This year is the 70^th anniversary of the play’s first performance in England and it ran uninterrupted in London until Covid lockdowns slammed shut the theatre doors.

 

Of course, the story is a Whodunnit riddled with red herrings and suspicious, lurking characters with dark secrets and knowing looks. In the final denouement, we do find out who is the mad, murdering culprit. However, at the curtain call, one actor hushes the crowd and swears us to secrecy; for 70 years, audience members have kept the villain’s identity a secret.

 

Mollie (Anna O’Byrne) and Giles Ralston (Alex Rathgeber) face the opening day of their Guest House, Monkswell Manor, and they are wide-eyed and innocent novices at this hospitality business. The snow has set in and the guests – expected and unexpected – arrive in the nick of time before the manor house is snowed in. Unfortunately, the radio news informs them that a murderer is on the loose. Then a policeman telephones to inform them that the killer may be in their area but, later, the phone line is cut, preventing them calling for help.

 

Christie’s characters are distinctive and representative of English society after World War Two. The first to arrive is daffy, wild-haired and boyish practical joker, Christopher Wren (Laurence Boxhall), whose interest in the manor and its furnishings supports his claim to be studying architecture.

 

Next to arrive are the brusque, abrasive, pernickety Mrs Boyle (Geraldine Turner), benign and helpful retired army officer, Major Metcalf (Adam Murphy) ,and the tight-lipped and secretive Miss Casewell (Charlotte Friels). Their surprise guests are the moustachioed, make-up wearing Mr Paravicini (Gerry Connolly), who tumbles into their manor after rolling his Roll Royce in the snow, and, finally, the young and capable Detective Sergeant Trotter (Tom Conroy) who appears outside the window on skis. He has come to alert the Ralstons to the lurking danger on their doorstep.

 

In the inimitable way of a Christie mystery, everybody looks guilty, even the blatantly and preposterously innocent.

 

This is a rollicking good night at the theatre, and Nevin’s crisp and witty direction keeps up a cracking pace while the cast all show impeccable timing, flawless accents and articulation and total credibility as these eccentric characters.

 

The action takes place in the sitting room of the manor and the naturalistic set, with its fireplace, period furniture, soaring ceilings and leadlight windows looking out on falling snow, provides the ideal, inescapable location for a Christie murder mystery, while the period costumes (Isabel Hudson) are the perfect complement to the design.

 

The Mousetrap is full of surprises and twists and likely and unlikely suspects, but keep the villain’s name under your soft, felt hat – I’ve seen it before, and I couldn’t remember who it was but, as a murder mystery buff, I was tickled to keep guessing.

 

by Kate Herbert

 

Cast

Anna O’Byrne -Mollie Ralston

Alex Rathgeber -Giles Ralston

Laurence Boxhall -Christopher Wren

Geraldine Turner -Mrs Boyle

Adam Murphy- Major Metcalf

Gerry Connolly -Mr Paravicini

Charlotte Friels -Miss Casewell

Tom Conroy – Detective Sergeant Trotter

 

Creative Team

Robin Nevin – Director

Isabel Hudson – Costume design & Associate Set Designer

Trudy Dalgliesh – Lighting Designer