Mousetrap

T'was pitch dark and silent. Suddenly the screams of a woman filled the air. Silence. A broadcast on the wireless informs that Mrs. Maureen Lyon was murdered in London at 3:30 in the afternoon.

 

Curtains up. The scene is that of a living room in Monkswell Manor, a guest house. Mr. & Mrs. Ralston are expecting guests and are doing everything to ensure that things are up to the mark. The bell rings and in comes Christopher Wren, an eccentric, excitable young man – bordering slightly on insanity – who takes an instant liking to Mrs. Ralston but is disliked by Mr. Ralston. The next guest is Mrs. Boyle, an elderly woman who starts finding fault with everything from the time she enters the guest house. Major Metcalfe comes in next followed by Miss Casewell.

All the expected guests are in and settled and the wireless informs that there is a huge snowstorm. Monkswell Manor is totally cut off from the outside world due to the storm. And then the bell rings again. Who is this unexpected visitor at this time of the night? Could it be someone related to the terrible murder of Mrs. Lyon? There is a silence in the air and finally the Ralstons open the door to the unexpected visitor, Mr. Parvaccini, who claims that his car broke down nearby and needs a place to stay for the night.

The Ralstons get a call from the police that a sergeant is on the way to their house to enquire about something very important, despite warnings that their house is inaccessible due to the snow storm. Minutes later somebody taps on the window. The window is opened and one can hear the storm outside, winds blowing fast and hard; and outside the window is the sergeant who has come there on his skis. The sergeant comes in, gets everybody assembled and announces that there is a murderer amongst them. The same person who killed Mrs. Lyon. And that there will be 2 more murders. The Ralstons try to call up the police and realize that the phone lines have been cut.

And then a second murder takes place, Mrs. Boyle has been strangled. There is the tune of '3 blind mice' in the background. Everybody is under suspicion. The eccentric Wren to the Major to the foreigner Parvaccini. As the sergeant investigates further, Mrs. Ralston starts to suspect her husband also. Nobody knows Miss Casewell's past and she is not very forth coming with it.

Totally cut off from the entire world, everyone a probable murderer and one more murder on the cards.. Will the case be solved? Will there be another murder? What is the motive?

Superb twist ending and brilliant performances, Mousetrap is indeed a play not to be missed. Mousetrap has a quintessential Christie plot with everyone under suspicion. The only disappointing thing with the play was that it was not chilling enough, the haunting tune of '3 blind mice' should have been used more often to create an effect.

57 years and still enthralling audiences at the St. Martin's theatre, watching Mousetrap is must-do for every London visitor(or should I say every Christie fan).