The world’s longest-running play is touring Australia and Alex Rathgeber is just one of many mice set for The Mousetrap.
There are many intriguing aspects to Agatha Christie’s famous whodunit play The Mousetrap, one being that it’s the longest-running play in history. Premiering on London’s West End in 1952 it has run continuously – apart from the Covid lockdowns.
Originally written as a radio play for Britain’s Queen Mary, it is the classic murder mystery for which Christie is renowned, involving a clever plot, intriguing characters, a lavish set and a twist!
Set in a remote English guesthouse, seven strangers are trapped in a snowstorm, all with complex personalities. Following a grisly London murder, a detective arrives to interrogate each of the guests. Amongst them all, someone is the murderer.
To celebrate The Mousetrap’s 70-year platinum anniversary, an Australian production is currently touring under the direction of iconic local actor Robyn Nevin AO. Helpmann Award winner Alex Rathgeber (Phantom of the Opera/The Wizard of Oz) plays the role of the charming guest house owner Giles Ralston.
“Prior to this show, I had almost zero knowledge of Agatha Christie and her work,” says Rathgeber.
“Christie wove so many fascinating social and political commentary pieces into every character”.
“I knew she was a prolific writer with dozens of books to her name, but this has been the beginning of a real Christie education for me, and I’m still no aficionado! But I can speak for The Mousetrap to say it so richly examines the complexities of human behaviour and attitudes. Christie wove so many fascinating social and political commentary pieces into every character. We’re coming up to our 100th performance and are still discovering so many nuances in her writing.”
With sixty-six ‘whodunnit’ novels under her belt, Christie holds the record for best-selling fiction writer of all time, selling over two billion copies worldwide. As for The Mousetrap, Christie herself gave the play a life expectancy of eight months. But perhaps the most intriguing aspect of The Mousetrap (apart from whodunnit) is the cast of characters that are progressive for the times.
“She clearly had an extraordinary mind,” says Rathgeber.
“These characters don’t necessarily push boundaries, but they must’ve been ground-breaking for the time.”
“It’s crazy to think she was born in the late 1800s and here we are in 2023 still getting so much out of her writing. Christie penned such witty observations of human behaviour through each eccentric character in the play and audiences are genuinely amazed at how relevant the themes still are 70 years later.”
Alongside Rathgeber is Anna O’Byrne as his wife Mollie, Adam Murphy as Major Metcalf and Tom Conroy plays Detective Trotter. Iconic Australian performers Geraldine Turner and Gerry Connolly are Mrs Boyle and Mr Paravicini. But Christie didn’t hold back on embracing queer culture with the characters of Miss Casewell, played by Charlotte Friels, and Christopher Wren portrayed by Laurence Boxhall as prime examples. While the Casewell character is suggestively lesbian, Wren is a camp outsider, with delicious one-liners and an eye for Detective Trotter.
The Moving Finger, A Murder Is Announced, Murder Is Easy and Hallowe’en Party (which is currently filming with Kenneth Branagh) all involve characters of questionable sexuality. It’s of no great surprise considering that Christie herself was somewhat the bohemian with pastimes in surfing and archaeological digs.
“On the surface of it, it’s a bunch of fairly conventional characters in a very traditional world,” says Rathgeber.
“It’s interesting to consider what the audience’s response to Christie’s inclusion of these characters would’ve been like in 1952. The play was first staged years before the legalisation of anything outside of heterosexuality, let alone our adoption of the term LGBTIQ+ and appreciation of sexuality and gender diversity in the community. By today’s standards, these characters don’t necessarily push the boundaries of conventionality, but they must’ve been ground-breaking for the time.”
“Agatha Christie’s script and stage directions have given us a huge amount of detail about life in 1952, but there’s certainly a lot more there than meets the eye. I hope people enjoy diving beneath the surface!”
The Mousetrap is currently touring Australia
For more: themousetrap.com.au
