Book Club

Christie's Plays

Agatha Christie wrote over a dozen plays, the most famous of which is The Mousetrap - the longest running play in the world. Here you can discuss each play in detail.

Warning: These discussions may contain spoilers!

The Mousetrap

Rea_Potter 28 Sep 08 at 6:26 p.m. GMT

It is one of my favourite book. I really like it because it is short an you can read it during only a few hours. It is voluble and isn't boring. :)

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30 replies

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Phlox 11 Oct 08 at 3:27 p.m. GMT

It is indeed really good. Especially if you read this book on a rainy day with overcast sky & all alone in a room its absolutely spine-chilling. (Actually i read this book on such a day & it was absolutely great I mean the feeling!!!!!!!!!)

steve 12 Nov 08 at 12:43 p.m. GMT

I saw this recently. Liked it

detectivepauljohn 17 Nov 08 at 9:15 a.m. GMT

There is a book? I thought it was only a play. Gonna buy it

jaxd 17 Nov 08 at 11:16 a.m. GMT

I recently watched the play and absolutely loved it! 

squatty 17 Nov 08 at 6:56 p.m. GMT

The stageplay has been available for a few years now. It always amazes me that the play has been the success that it has been. I guess for the most part, it is the visitors to London that keep the success going and include in their itinery like Big Ben and Madame Tussauds. Now that the play has become a national institution, I cant ever imagine it being taken off. I have only seen the play once and found the first half dragged endlessly. Of course the climax of the play is stunning and I suppose thats what most people remember after leaving the theatre.

Tommy_A_Jones 04 Dec 08 at 4:28 p.m. GMT

I saw an Am Dram version of Spiders WeB and didn't like it, It wasn't because it was because it was Am Dram, I don't think her books make good plays but that is just my opinion. The Mousetrap which I have also seen was brilliant

squatty 04 Dec 08 at 7:11 p.m. GMT

I think her plays are enjoyed these days more for their camp value. I saw a version of Spiders Web a few years back and the actors hammed the whole thing up - it could have been a panto.

Marc_Anton 04 Dec 08 at 7:59 p.m. GMT

Also the plays are never performed by professional theatre companies anymore, only by amateurs and dinner theatre. I'm afraid the plays have dated more than the books. Most of Christie's theatre work was very successful in its day; the plays had good runs in London and sometimes in New York too.

An exception of course is The Mousetrap in London but I also have the feeling that they will keep it on the boards just for the tourists, like the London Eye, another carbuncle on the landscape. I saw The Mousetrap in London some years ago and you have the feeling that you are part of one big joke. 90 percent of the audience are not regular visitors of any form of theatre but hey, you're in London so what can you do in the evening. There is a kind of conspiracy feeling; you feel a bit embarrassed being there. A very guilty pleasure indeed.

You are right Squatty, the play (Mousetrap) isn't that good and terribly old-fashioned. I was disappointed by the acting, not even the actors took it seriously, lot's of hamming and funny voices. Like that infamous Monty Peyton sketch, it was almost like a parody. When you want thrills and mystery in the theatre, go and see The Woman in Black, it is much more entertaining.

I doubt if even Witness for the Prosecution will keep the audience interested for long today, though it is a much better play than The Mousetrap. Perhaps even better as a short story or a film. Seeing The Mousetrap is like climbing the Eiffel Tower, you do it once in a lifetime.

Aurora 24 Dec 08 at 5:29 p.m. GMT

Marc Anton, I agree about The Woman In Black (excellent in any format- Miss Lemon's finest moment?) but did you see the And Then There Were None productions last year? It did the book ending which was a great surprise and had some class actors like Trevor from EastEnders who I'm ashamed to say I don't know his name as he is brilliant on stage. I think The Mousetrap now needs to be filmed and modernised without losing its essence. Sorry if this is sacreligious but we need to move on.

Marc_Anton 29 Dec 08 at 11:59 a.m. GMT

Aurora, no, I did not see the London stage version of And Then There Were None (I do not live in the UK) but I saw some photos and the promotion on Internet. It looked quite good and unusual. Perhaps these plays work only nowadays with a kind of 'cinematic' interpretation: a bit over-the-top set designs and visual effects (something The Mousetrap is not, that looks more like Panto in the Village Hall.) After all, this is not realistic theatre and works perhaps better with some expressionistic approach. I am not familiar with the film version of The Woman in Black but I did saw the stage version in London and it was one of the few times in the theatre I saw people actually clutching each other from mere fright. Quite incredible, since there are only two actors on stage. A masterpiece of mood and suspence.

Aurora 30 Dec 08 at 12:46 p.m. GMT

The film version of The Woman in Black isn't available on DVD (why I don't know as it would sell like hot cakes) but we have it on VHS (it's that old) and it is so atmosheric and scary. Pauline Moran is brilliant and, like the play, it's terrifying. I think so much could be learnt from the way this has been adapted as, whilst not a lot really seems to happen, it is so tense and suspense filled that it stays with you long after you've finished watching. This year, Spider's Web will be doing the rounds in the UK. Since Bill Kenwright has taken over producing them the plays have been given a more cinematic feel which, though over the top sometimes, works well. We are going to see it in April and I'll post my views then. I hope you get to see Pauline Moran in The Woman In Black one day - it really is a horror classic.

Marc_Anton 30 Dec 08 at 1:51 p.m. GMT

Aurora, the film version of The Woman in Black must be quite different from the stage version because what I saw on stage did not really have a role for a female character. The only two speaking parts were two men, the title character (The Woman) did appear but only for a few seconds and only in silhouette, it was a non-speaking part. The actress (or extra) did not even appear at the curtain bows. So I guess the film version must have added another role since I too saw Pauline Moran in the casting list at IMDB. Can you still speak of a faithful stage adaptation? But it might be scary and mysterious anyway and I hope one day to find it on DVD. Next time I am in London perhaps I will see the show again, it is the second-longest running (no prizes for guessing who is 1st!) and it will still be there. If only for enjoying the reactions of the audience. I saw a Saturday evening performance with a noisy young audience (only the first 10 minutes) but they got drawn into the story very quickly and sure did they jump! But I did saw the film version of Spider’s Web once, it was a bit silly when I recall rightly but it might work on stage if you don’t take this kind of thing seriously. It is very light and not really a thriller, more like a crime-comedy but it might be fun. I hope you have a nice time and please report of the experience.

HeiseiHolmes 15 Jan 10 at 4:05 p.m. GMT

Does this play ever appear outside of London? I really want to watch it...

Tommy_A_Jones 15 Jan 10 at 4:23 p.m. GMT

No, But When I subscribed to the Set as Advertized on ITV afew years ago The Mouse Trap was one of the plays in the set, what's more the Film rights werew sold when the play first opened on Condition Filming didn't start until after the Run finished, I think there has to be a gaap of 6 Months before shooting is allowed to start and as the play is still running it won't be made yet.

Fishcake16 31 Jan 10 at 9:02 p.m. GMT

I love this play. It's sooooooooo cleverly written. I LOVE it and think it is well worth watching!!! I like the old fashioned storyline and I thoroughly enjoyed it!!! I recommend it to EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

gin_gerosa 26 Jun 10 at 9:19 a.m. GMT

Mouse Trap is definately one of Agatha's best. I acted it out once and it is sooo easy to slip into one of her characters because her use of adjectives and her description is AWESOME and totally RAD!

xrysoula 02 Jul 10 at 10:33 a.m. GMT

"THE TOURIST TRAP"

Does anyone out there care to hear the impressions of a foreign tourist?

I visited your fascinating capital in November 2004-utterly adored it, best journey of my life.About The Mousetrap though, I 'm afraid I have to agree with every single word Marc Anton has written.For an AC fan like myself, who had been ecstatic by the book, the stageplay I had so been looking forward to, was heartbreaking.So awfully directed and ill-acted, I was having trouble keeping up with the plot, to the point that I started wondering whether I was in a different play!If not anything else, I expected some respect for what I consider to be a national treasure, but no- the "actors" seemed to be laughing in our faces for having spent our money on a parody like that. I completely agree that the play only exists for reasons of prestige and to lurk ignorrant visitors such as myself.Come to think of it, they should rename it as "THE TOURIST TRAP".Such a pitty, such a shame.

On the other hand, The Woman In Black was such a delight.Real acting, true horror.When the lihts turned on,we ALL found ourselves clutched from one another, gasping and looking more pale than the ghost.An authentic masterpiece, a monument to what theater is all about.My deepest conratulations to every single member of the show.My advise to London visitors is:Skip The Mousetrap and go straight to The Woman In Black- it 's going to be one of the most intense experiences of your life.

Miss_Eylesbarrow 02 Jul 10 at 11:43 a.m. GMT

I'm sorry to read your comments on 'The Mousetrap' Xrysoula.  I can only think that you must have been unfortunate enough to see a very poor production.  I've seen the play twice, the first time as a 20 something in the 1980s and the second time as a treat for my son's birthday in 2008 and loved the play both times.  For me it was pure delight and transported me into the story in the same way that reading the books does.  I'm a Londoner myself and cannot comment on whether it is good value for money for visitors from overseas, but I would certainly recommend it as an enjoyable evening out.  It's certainly no less value for money than the awful 'popular band becomes a play using their most famous songs' type of production which seems to infest the West End at present.

xrysoula 02 Jul 10 at 12:45 p.m. GMT

I am sorry too, miss Eylesbarrow.Believe me, it grieves me to talk like that, yet it 's sad but true.See, Marc Anton has had a similar experience.Even if I travel to London again, I don 't think I will find the heart to give it a second chance, it was way too disappointing.The worst thing about it was that I had drugged two friends along (not AC 's fans), having praised the book to them, and they 've been mocking me ever sice.

Miss_Eylesbarrow 05 Jul 10 at 4:17 p.m. GMT

Oh dear, how very sad.  If/when you do come again, perhaps try a matinee version and just take yourself along.  Who knows it may be better a second time?  But I hope I'm not the only one out here who loves these old-fashioned plays.  It will be a sorry day indeed when The Mousetrap is taken off the London stage. 

I'd love to see 'Spider's Web' - having read the adapted book recently.  Has anyone seen a version?