CULTURE CLUB
Cat and Mouse BACKSTAGE The West End’s most-adored and longest-running show will come to Cambridge this month, celebrating 70 years – Miriam Balanescu finds out more
M ost plays that hit the West End tend to have a relatively short lifespan – showing to audiences for a few years before something else comes along and becomes the next big thing. But a humble Agatha Christie whodunnit has now been shaking things up in theatre for 70 years. The Mousetrap ’s 70th edition is currently on tour around the UK, giving a chance to audiences who may not have made the trip to London to see it on their own turf. Michael Lyle, whose credits include National Theatre shows and Eastenders , will play Giles Ralston, who together with his wife Molly becomes the proprietor of the fateful Monkswell Manor – and a tale of murder and intrigue ensues. There is another twist to Michael’s involvement: he has never seen the play. “Once I got the part, I felt like I had a choice to make: do I go and watch it happen and then rehearse, or do I kind of keep it slightly naive and just play my own character?” Michael says. “I went for the second option.” Despite this, Michael thinks it’s
MURDER MOST FOUL Michael Lyle (above right) plays Giles Ralston in this production of The Mousetrap
whole way through, if we’re doing our job properly as we hope we are, people are changing their opinions about who did it. It’s important to us that we keep them guessing right until the end.” Aside from the ever-turning cogs of the murder case, there is a true love story at the play’s heart, centring on Michael’s character. “Giles is desperately happy with Molly,” Michael urges. “The important thing to Rachel, who plays Molly, was that we wanted to tell a story from the off about a couple who are thrilled to be together and starting this new venture. And then it goes south very quickly.” In real life, Michael actually got married during the show’s recent run – popping by the registry office in the morning and making sure he was back in time for the show in the evening. “It was a bit of a whirlwind,” exclaims Michael. “Nobody could quite believe I was doing it. But it’s a story that will always be really good to tell.”
meeting a “person who had been brought along by their grandparents, who in turn had originally seen The Mousetrap with their own grandparents.” A crucial aspect of the play is that it toys with the viewer, using stage tricks and other devices to constantly throw them off the scent. “We all
like to know who’s done it – I always thought it would be interesting to see just how many people had at one point in their life looked into
It’s a perfect night out and caters to lots of tastes
pretty clear why The Mousetrap has held audiences in its grip for so long: “It’s a perfect night out really. It caters to a lot of different tastes,
being a detective,” remarks Michael. “We want to keep the story moving. You want to excite the audience by keeping the rhythm of it. There are lots of red herrings in the play. There are moments where people will look and think, ‘Oh, did you see that?’ That’s quite nice. You hear that sometimes, not too loudly. The
all ages. It’s a murder mystery – everyone loves a murder mystery. I think more than anything else, it’s familiar – particularly in this country.” Because of this, the play has been passed down through the generations. One of Michael’s favourite moments was
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