Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap celebrates 70 years in the West End

There is no better way to witness theatre history than by viewing Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap which, just celebrated its 70 years of success in the West-End as the world’s longest standing production.

The idea of The Mousetrap was born when Queen Mary, the wife of King George V, decided in 1947 that she wanted to celebrate her 80th birthday with an Agatha Christie play.

In response, Christie wrote a 30-minute radio play for the BBC called Three Blind Mice, which would later evolve into her most iconic piece.

The play made its debut on November 25, 1952, a time of great national upheaval: It was seven years after Hitler’s death, Winston Churchill was Prime Minister, the country was recovering from war, and Princess Elizabeth had just began her long reign as Queen.

Agatha Christie became a Dame in 1971 and until this day she has sold more books than any other author apart from Shakespeare and the Bible.

The Mousetrap’s original producer, Peter Saunders, was knighted in 1982 for his services to the theatre.

Under current producer Sir Stephen-Waley Cohen, the production is now touring the UK in celebration of its anniversary and its cast includes EastEnders stars Todd Carty (as Major Metcalf), Gwyneth Strong (as Mrs Boyle) and John Altman (as Mr Paravicini).

It has now been performed at London’s St Martin’s theatre more than 28,500 times and sold 10 million tickets.

Pictured: The Mousetrap London 2022 cast Picture: The Mousetrap