6 reasons why you should see Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap in Liverpool

The Mousetrap is one of the most famous murder mysteries of all time and it’s become a must-go for theatre fans from around the world heading to London’s West End.

Tickets there are booking a year ahead, but now Liverpool whodunnit lovers have the chance to see The Mousetrap closer to home because a touring production is coming to the Empire. In Liverpool from Monday November 7 to Saturday November 12, it celebrates the 70^th anniversary of the first staging of Agatha Christie’s classic.

It’s got a great cast including some familiar faces, so if you’ve never managed to catch it in its London home – or you did and were on the edge of your seat – here are 6 reasons you should see The Mousetrap in Liverpool …

It’s an incredible record-breaker

The Mousetrap is the world’s longest-running play – since it first opened back in 1952, it has sold more than 10 million tickets and there have been almost 29,000 performances. In St Martin’s Theatre in the West End, an old wooden sign in the foyer, which clocks up the number of performances, has become a tourist attraction in its own right with theatregoers queuing up to take their photo in front of it.

It’s also the best-kept secret storyline in theatre history

There’s really no point having a murder mystery without the mystery, so audiences are asked at the end of each performance not to reveal the identity of the murderer. And, amazingly, even when everything is shared on social, people still manage to keep it to themselves. It’s like the Fight Club of theatre – what happens in The Mousetrap stays in The Mousetrap!

It’s fun trying to solve the mystery

For anyone who doesn’t know, the plot centres around seven strangers who find themselves snowed in a remote country guesthouse. There’s been a murder in London and when a police officer arrives, they discover that the killer is one of them. The challenge for audiences, as they listen to each guest reveal details of their past, is to work out whodunnit and who might be the next victim.

You’ll probably be wrong

The vast majority of amateur sleuths don’t guess correctly apparently. In previous productions, the company manager has been known to mingle with audiences in the interval and ask them for their suspicions. They’re nearly always wrong, probably because there are quite a few twists and big reveals left in the second half and it’s very tricky to work it out before the killer is finally revealed.

There’s a fantastic cast for this tour

The Mousetrap isn’t known as a star vehicle, the show itself is the star, but this touring production does have a fantastic cast including some familiar faces. Todd Carty, who’s known for playing Tucker in Grange Hill and Mark Fowler in EastEnders, is Major Metcalf, Gwyneth Strong (Cassandra in Only Fools and Horses) is Mrs Boyle and John Altman (Nasty Nick in EastEnders) is Mr Paravicini.

Agatha Christie is having a moment

There’s never really been a time when Agatha Christie murder mysteries weren’t popular, her incredible writing is timeless even though she created Poirot more than 100 years ago. But big screen versions of some of her best-known novels have kept her in the spotlight, and Kenneth Branagh’s spectacular film turn as the Belgian detective, alongside superstar casts, has introduced her to a whole new audience. Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile have both been massive box office hits, and now he’s working on a third – A Haunting in Venice, based on Agatha Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party.