The Mousetrap announces a new cast ahead of its anniversary performance

Posted on 20 October 2022

Written by the best-selling novelist of all time Agatha Christie, the timeless and genre-defining murder mystery The Mousetrap is set to celebrate its 70th anniversary in the West End with a landmark performance on Friday 25th November 2022. Ahead of the performance, The Mousetrap has announced a new star-studded cast. Can you crack the case? Find out by booking tickets for The Mousetrap today at St Martin's Theatre

The cast of The Mousetrap 

The production has broken records for its casting durability, but is also no stranger to changes in cast. Since it opened on 25th November 1952, an astonishing 460 actors and actresses have appeared in the play. Some cast members are in the Guinness Book of Records: David Raven as the 'Most Durable Actor' for 4575 performances as Major Metcalf and the late Nancy Seabrooke for a record-breaking 15 years as an understudy.

From Monday 21 November, the cast will be Sara Lessore (The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream) as Mollie Ralston, George Banks (Coronation Street) as Giles Ralston, Jonathan Tynan-Moss (Doctor Who Time Fracture) as Christopher Wren, Sarah Whitlock (The Mousetrap) as Mrs. Boyle, Philip Childs (Long Day’s Journey Into Night) as Major Metcalf, Phoebe Sparrow (Downton Abbey) as Miss Casewell, Rob Pomfret (The Responder) as Mr. Paravicini and George Jones making his West End debut as Detective Sgt. Trotter.

The legacy of The Mousetrap

Agatha Christie initially believed that The Mousetrap would run for a maximum of eight months. It is now heading towards its 70th year on stage. Conceived by the world’s best-selling novelist of all time, whose work in the English language is the most read behind only the bible and Shakespeare - the show has been performed over 28,500 times in London and has been seen by over 10 million individuals. 

The history of The Mousetrap has woven itself into modern London life seamlessly, husband and wife Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim starred in the initial 1952 production, whilst Queen Elizabeth II attended its 50th-anniversary performance. It marked the official reopening of the West End on 17 May 2021, after the Covid-19 lockdown. Due to its incomparable legacy, The Mousetrap has helped in cementing Agatha Christie as a household name.

The story of The Mousetrap 

As a group of seven strangers are snowed in at a remote countryside guesthouse, the news of a murder travels across London. When a police sergeant arrives at the house, the guests soon conclude that there is a killer amongst them. Within a haze of panic and paranoia, seedy secrets of the past are revealed. With several questions lurking on the tongues of the untrustworthy guests; who is the killer and who will be next? 

For over 70 years Christie’s murder mystery has kept audiences’ feverishly on the edge of their seats. Can you find the killer?

The creatives of The Mousetrap 

Written by the iconic Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap is directed by Ian Talbot OBE. Denise Silvey is Artistic Director, with costume supervision by Janet Hudson Holt, and production by Adam Spiegel and Sir Stephan Waley-Cohen

The Mousetrap tickets are available now

How will this thriller reach its epic conclusion and who will make it out alive? Find out in the 70th anniversary of the longest-reigning show of all time. 

By Kevin Thomas

From as early as I can recall, writing has always been my passion. Being able to combine this with my love for theatre has been a rewarding and exhilarating experience. I truly believe that there is magic in seeing a story brought to life on stage, and this is what I would like to promote to audiences.