The Mousetrap

The Mousetrap is coming to Milton Keynes Theatre for a one-week run from 26 April to 1 May 2027. It's Agatha Christie's most famous whodunnit, and this touring production marks the play's 75th anniversary across the UK and Ireland.

If you've never seen it, the story is a classic murder mystery: a group of strangers trapped in a guest house during a snowstorm, a murder, and a killer hiding in plain sight. It started as a radio play called Three Blind Mice, written for Queen Mary's 80th birthday, before opening in the West End in 1952. It's still running nightly at St Martin's Theatre in London, which makes it the longest-running play in history, with more than 30,000 performances under its belt. Christie let it open on the strict condition that no audience member or press person would give away the plot, and she gave it eight months at most. She also stipulated that any film adaptation could only be made six months after the show closed—a clause that's made a movie unlikely all these years later. The solution is still left unspoken, and the cast asks the audience to keep it to themselves.

This production is directed by Hannah Chissick. The cast includes Susan Penhaligon as Mrs Boyle, Nicholas Bailey as Major Metcalf, Emily Laing and Jack Hardwick as Mollie and Giles Ralston, Thomas Barrett as Christopher Wren, Clare Duffy as Miss Casewell, James Peake as Mr Paravicini, and Alfie Richards as Detective Sergeant Trotter.

Milton Keynes Theatre opened in 1999 and is known for its adjustable auditorium; the ceiling and seating lower for plays to bring around 1,400 seats closer to the stage. Performances run Monday to Saturday evenings at 7.30pm, with 2.30pm matinees on Wednesday 28 April and Saturday 1 May. Tickets start from £15, available through ATG Tickets.