Harry Helps “Keep the [S]ecret” in Agatha Christie’s Classic Whodunit

Joseph Stalin was Premier of the Soviet Union, Winston Churchill was British Prime Minister and, meanwhile and across the pond, Dwight D. Eisenhower was U.S. President when, sixty years ago today, Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit debuted at the Ambassadors Theatre in London on November 25, 1952.  In attendance were slightly more than 450 people, settled in for the play-within-a-play touting suspenseful show about snowed-in people at Monkswell Manor and the murderer who is on the loose (“November”). Christie’s prediction was that the play would last eight months (Marsden).

 

Now, in 2012, The Mousetrap has become the longest continuously-running play in history; more than 10 million people thus far have viewed its more than 20,000 performances in the West End of London (“November”).  Over 300 actors have been cast as one of the eight characters (“November”) in the intimate, sometimes campy, show, and most recently, Harry Lloyd was among a star-studded cast at St. Martin’s Theatre in London putting on a tailspin rendition of Christie’s murder-mystery in honor of the play’s anniversary.  The play has been performed at St. Martin’s since 1973 (“Stars Celebrate”).

 

On November 18, 2012 (one day after Harry’s 29^th Birthday, which leads us to believe that part of his festivities included script-line cramming in addition to cake-in-mouth-cramming), Harry and fellow thespians such as Harry’s frequent co-star Iain Glen, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Miranda Hart, Tamsin Greig, and Sir Patrick Stewart put on a whirlwind rendition of The Mousetrap, marking the 25,000^th performance in its 60-year history.

 

The cast of the 25,000 Gala Performance of The Mousetrap, in-costume. ©Express & Star online (2012) (“Stars Celebrate”)

 

British Director Phyllida Lloyd (no relation to Harry), who also directed Harry in 2011’s The Iron Lady, assembled the eight actors who graced the stage on November 18^th.  They had under 24 hours to both learn and memorize lines and stage directions, respectively (Smith).  Said Nicholas Farrell, who played Detective Sergeant Trotter, "‘One of the tricky things is that there are so many entrances and exits and it operates pretty quick-fire’” (qtd. in Smith).  A person can only imagine who adroit and flexible the actors had to be, even for a staged reading (they were in costume yet reading from scripts): in fact, “the cast admitted to feeling nervous about taking on such an enormous task” (Smith).   It was a one-time gig, and a once-in-a-lifetime event for anyone fortunate enough to be in the audience, we’re sure, especially since the show was reportedly sold out (Gans).

 

The suspicious star-studded cast of The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre on November 18, 2012 included (from left) Harry Lloyd, Nicholas Farrell, Julie Walters, Iain Glen, Tamsin Greig, Sir Patrick Stewart, Miranda Hart, and Hugh Bonneville. Photo Credit: ©Eddie Mulholland (2012)

 

The Time Out London blog explains The Mousetrap’s celebratory performance quite succinctly explaining how Christie’s mystery play

will, mind-bogglingly, celebrate its sixtieth year in the West End this weekend. For Sunday’s special gala performance at [6:30 p.m.] the usual cast of, erm, ‘jobbing’ actors will be replaced by pretty much the best cast in London. It was announced today that for one night only the indestructible whodunnit will be performed by Hugh Bonneville (Giles Ralston), Nicholas Farrell (Major Metcalf), Iain Glen (Sgt Trotter), Tamsin Greig (Mollie Ralston), Miranda Hart (Miss Casewell), Harry Lloyd (Christopher Wren), Patrick Stewart (Mr Paravicini) and Julie Walters (Mrs Boyle). One imagines they may be a little on the unrehearsed side, but the audience will probably be too star-struck to notice. Tickets are already sold out, and due to the jealousy with which the show’s producers guard its ending one imagines there will be no recording, but it’s worth queuing for a return (or even  just hanging outside to celeb spot), as for the first time in over half a century, ‘The Mousetrap’ will be London’s hottest ticket. (“Celeb”)

All proceeds from the gala performance of Christie’s whodunit featuring the star-studded cast were donated to Mousetrap Theatre Projects, which is an educational organization “dedicated to bringing the magic of theatre into the lives of young people” (Champion; “Stars Unite”).

 

Traditionally, at “every curtain call, the individual who has been revealed as the murderer steps forward and tells the audience that they are ‘partners in crime’ and should ‘keep the secret of the whodunit locked in their heart’” (“November”).  While mum’s the word on the finale of Christie’s mystery, “bravo” is the word Lloydalists would like to say to the most recent cast of The Mousetrap.

 

Check out THUMBNAILS of the cast in costume and out(side)!

 

Some of the participants in the Gala production of The Mousetrap post-show and bundled up for the wintry weather.  That’s a facially-hirsute-looking Lloyd, second from left. ©The BBC Entertainment and Arts (2012)

 

 

Works Cited & Consulted

Amer, Matthew. “Stars Collide for Mousetrap Gala.” OfficialLondonTheatre.co.uk. 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/news/latest-news/article/item161975>.

“Celeb Cast Celebrates The Mousetrap’s 60^th Birthday.” Now. Here. This. Time Out London Blog. Now-Here-This.Timeout.com. 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2012/11/16/celeb-cast-celebrate-the-mousetraps-60th-birthday/>.

Champion, Lindsay. “Patrick Stewart, Julie Walters & More to Toast 60th Anniversary of West End Thriller The Mousetrap.” 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. Braodway.com. <http://london.broadway.com/buzz/165566/patrick-stewart-julie-walters-more-to-toast-60th-anniversary-of-west-end-thriller-the-mousetrap/>.

Gans, Andrew. “Patrick Stewart, Julie Walters, Iain Glen and More Set for 60th Anniversary Gala Performance of The Mousetrap.” 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. Playbill.com. <http://www.playbill.com/news/article/172292-Patrick-Stewart-Julie-Walters-Iain-Glen-and-More-Set-for-60th-Anniversary-Gala-Performance-of-The-Mousetrap>.

Marsden, Sam. “Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap celebrates its 60th anniversary with star-studded show.” The Telegraph. Telegraph.co.uk. 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/9686732/Agatha-Christies-The-Mousetrap-celebrates-its-60th-anniversary-with-star-studded-show.html>.

Merrifield, Nicola. “Julie Walters, Patrick Stewart and Hugh Bonneville to Appear in The Mousetrap Anniversary Performance.” The Stage News. TheStage.co.uk. N.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. <http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/production/2012/11/julie-walters-patrick-stewart-and-hugh-bonneville-to-appear-in-the-mousetrap-anniversary-performance/>.

“November 25, 1952: Mousetrap Debuts in London.” “This Day in History.” History.com. 25 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mousetrap-opens-in-london?cmpid=Social_Twitter_H2_11252012_1>.

Smith, Kelly. “Mousetrap Celebrates 60 Years with Gala Performance.” BBC Entertainment and Arts. BBC.co.uk. 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20385087>.

“Stars Celebrate Mousetrap’s 60^th.” ExpressandStar.com. 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2012/11/18/stars-celebrate-mousetraps-60th/>.

“Stars Unite to Celebrate The Mousetrap Anniversary.” Orange.co.uk. 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. <http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/stars_unite_to_celebrate_the_mousetrap_anniversary>.

 

 

~Researched, Written, and Posted by C; Additional Research by K~