By Goya Verity
On the 70th Anniversary Tour of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery play The Mousetrap, I was sent by That Oxford Girl to find out whodunnit!
Spectators flocked to the doors of Oxford’s New Theatre to see the world’s longest running show in the name of the best British theatre icons in drama, artistic direction, and production. After revelling ourselves in complimentary drinks and conversation at the iconic Piano Bar, atmospheric music perfectly transported us into the mythical realm of mystery and all things Agatha Christie…
The one-set wonder set the scene for the seven strangers snowed-in n a remote guesthouse: it was charmingly period and suited the Oxford setting perfectly – it could have been set in one of the university’s older colleges!
The character Christopher Wren’s opening lines summed up the execution of the play perfectly: “Heavenly, quite heavenly…. lovely proportions.” The flawless understanding of the characters, and plot twists, and murder mystery genre has been inherited by generations of creative directors that have engaged with it and have firmly placed The Mousetrap in the British theatrical legacy.
Under the guidance of the hysteric Detective Sargent Trotter pursing justice, the captivating plot unravelled before us, and, in typical satisfactory murder-mystery fashion, the solution was laid out to us as clear as day at the end of the play! Oh, the power of theatre!The curtain call was accompanied with a message to the audience, who are now partners in crime, about the tradition of secrecy of ‘whodunnit. The secret must be kept in our hearts so that the charm of secrecy may live on in British theatre and the mystery genre.
Do you want to know whodunnit?! Check out the New Theatre’s website for the box-office now: an occasion at the New Theatre is a heart-warming and encouraged way of enjoying cultural life and leisure here in Oxford.