Another Six Months For The Mousetrap

Long-running West End whodunit, The Mousetrap has announced a new six month booking period. Performances of the perennially popular play, written by Agatha Christie, will now run until May 16, 2009, at St Martin's Theatre.

The Mousetrap began life in 1947 as a short radio play in honour of Queen Mary, it was originally entitled Three Blind Mice. The name was changed due to a pre-existing play, also called Three Blind Mice, written by Emile Littler prior to the Second World War.

Directed by David Turner since 1986, The Mousetrap has enjoyed the longest initial run of any play in the world, an impressive 56 years. Despite the plays venerable age, it still hides one of the best kept secrets in theatreland. Audiences are asked to keep the identity of the show's killer a secret from anyone outside the theatre. Revelling in it's own mystique, the show has never publicly revealed the intricacies of the plot. When a TV game show jokingly suggested "it was the butler" the BBC was swamped with complaints from ardent Mousetrap fans. Fortunately, the cast does not include a butler.

The Mousetrap has undergone a gentle modernisation over the years. Mentions of guineas and farthings were removed long ago as were references to Japanese prisoner of war camps. The effect of these changes is a timeless performance artfully delivered by a talented cast.

With over 23,000 successful performances, a 56 year run and one of the longest and proudest histories of any West End show, The Mousetrap is a must see.