June 17
Today I got to visit the Victoria & Albert Museum, which is the world’s leading museum of art and design. It is home to millions of objects, ranging from portraits, jewelry, and artifacts, spanning over five thousand years of human life and creativity. Within all the exhibits is the Theater & Performance collection; full of incredible and historical performing arts artifacts. While walking through I saw amazing pieces of theater history, like the horse puppet from War Horse, Lola’s iconic red dress and boots from Kinky Boots, and platform shoes worn by Tina Turner herself in 1975.
But one object stood out in particular. Here is a Silk programme for the 2239th performance of The Mousetrap. This stood out because, not too long ago, I saw The Mousetrap and was at the 28,688 performance. It is insane to think that there have been 26,449 performances since this show was first premiered back in 1952 and when I saw it a mere couple of days ago. Within that time frame, the world has gone through a second world war, people made it into outer space, and the internet was created and changed the world. It is also quite fascinating to realize that this show has been around as long as Queen Elizabeth the Second has been the reigning monarch. And just like her, this show is a part of history.
According to the notes at the museum, this performance of The Mousetrap was done at the Ambassadors Theater, whereas I saw it at the St. Martin’s Theater. This got me into a bit of research about the history of the show. Written by Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap premiered in 1952 at the Ambassadors Theater. Originally called “Three Blind Mice”, the play is about the hosts and guests of the Monkswell Manor, who hear of a murderer on the loose through the radio and fear they may be among them. The lure of the show is, once the show has finished you are then a partner in crime and are sworn to secrecy on whodunit. In 1974, with only about 9,000 shows under it’s belt, the show moved to St. Martin’s Theater, where it has remained ever since, with only suspended performances during Covid.
This programme here is a document of the history this show carries. While it was not used onstage in the show at all, it is a symbol for the presence and significance it had. Written on the programme says ”Saturday, April 12th, 1958” “It thus becomes the longest running play of any kind in the history of the British Theatre.” It also lists the entire cast and company at the time, all written on vibrant red silk. This piece of The Mousetrap symbolizes the records set by Christies play, and the impact it has had as it has maintained on the West End.
Theatre in London U of A 
Hailey, good choice for this post since you got to see The Mousetrap! Thanks for these thoughts and providing facts about the interesting history of the show.
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