The Mousetrap – A Murder Mystery By Agatha Christie

Christie’s The Mousetrap is the longest running play anywhere in the world, and has been seen by 10 million people in London alone since its opening in 1952. Not bad for a play that the author hoped might run for 8 months or so!

A whodunit that invites the audience to figure out both who will be the victims, and who will be revealed as the murderer, The Mousetrap plays with the conventions of the murder mystery in ways that keep the audience in suspense until the very last minute.

A snowstorm isolates a guest house in the English countryside, and traps the couple who own the house with six strangers. One stranger is murdered, and an intrepid police officer, who has arrived on skis, has to try to prevent the unknown murderer from claiming more victims. As the investigation continues, hidden connections among the guests are gradually revealed…but will the identity of the murderer be discovered before another victim has been claimed? The Mousetrap will leave audience members gasping when the murderer is exposed.

Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976) has been called the ‘Queen of Crime’ for having written 66 detective novels, more than 20 mystery plays, and 14 short stories, many of which feature Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best selling fiction writer of all time, with her novels having sold more than two billion copies. Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None, and, of course, The Mousetrap are three of her more famous works.

Seaside Theatre Company
Seaside Theatre Company is PEI’s newest community theatre, and is based at the Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre in Summerside. The company aims to ‘build community through theatre’ by drawing on the many talents found throughout the island, and by presenting a wide variety of theatrical productions for both audiences and participants to experience. To ensure that the shows presented by the theatre company fully represent the community of which it is a part, Seaside Theatre Company uses colour blind and gender blind casting.