IN THE ETHER

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THE WORLD'S MOST DURABLE MOUSETRAP


Reviewed by NICOLE FRONEK


The Soho district of London’s West End is home to the longest consistently running play, The Mousetrap. The prestigious author, Agatha Christie, initially wrote a piece titled Three Blind Mice for a 30-minute radio broadcast as a birthday gift for the late Queen Mary. The simple gift of a story has developed into a 50-year theatre production that has entertained over ten million viewers both young and old. The plot line presents a classic 'who did it' murder mystery. A case that the great detective Sherlock Homes himself would have happily offered his services to.

On December 6th, 2004, as the lights dimmed in the historical St. Martin’s Theatre, the cast of the 21,235th showing of The Mousetrap were taking their places. The audience began to settle into their red velvet, antique seats and focus their attention onto the stage only metres away. As the curtain began to part, the classic tune of Three Blind Mice - but of course - echoed out through the aisles.

The crescent shaped stage seemed to consume most of the quaint theatre's real estate. The scenery was well furnished to fit the décor of the time era of 1952. The lighting was carried out tastefully so as to focus on the entire stage when a large majority of the cast was present and, when required, it created a dramatic effect at the times the possible offender was being interrogated. The cast was a dynamic group that may in fact dream their lines as they sleep. What once may have begun as an 'understudy gig' for a starving college student, has over time blossomed into a lifetime career.

As the story began to come to a close, the repeated questioning of the hotheaded detective began to dull the heated plot. A portion of the final act could have been given the axe in this murder mystery fable. By and large for a script that was created in such simpler times, it proved to be worth the £45 per head to add to the grand total of £33,000,000 that have already been earned worldwide. If hopes were high to discover who the perpetrator was sadly I regret to inform you, secrecy has been sworn. The curious minded will have to find out for themselves.