Say Cheese!

Watching a play at London's West End is an experience of a lifetime. A year back when I came to London, there were three plays that I wanted to see - The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King and The Mousetrap. After a year I got closer to that dream.

Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap is the longest "initial running" play in theatrical history. This means that the play has never gone off stage since its first performance. I was amongst the fortunate who became a part of history. The Mousetrap is currently in its 58th year and I witnessed the 24, 134th performance. 

The Mousetrap opened at the West End at the Ambassador theatre next door in 1952. It was performed here till 1974 when it was transferred to St. Martin's Theatre, without missing a single performance. On this occasion Agatha Christie gifted the Ambassador theatre with a model of a mousetrap as a souvenir, which remains on display in the foyer. It has played at St. Martin's Theatre ever since.

Agatha Christie is known to the world as the Queen of Crime. She wrote about 80 novels and short story collections. She also wrote about a dozen plays but is seldom recognized as a playwright. I am not unfamiliar with her writings; the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot being a personal favourite. The genius of her work lies in the details. Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are possibly two of the most famous private detectives in the literary world. Their popularity surpasses that of their creators. The key to both the detectives was to concentrate on the details. And yet I recall being partial to Hercule Poirot.

It has been many years since I last read a Poirot mystery. I remember competing with my younger brother while reading Agatha Christie's stories. We had to guess the real killer and the motive and also explain how we reached our conclusion. Years later, sitting at St. Martin's I decided to play the game once again; only this time with myself.

Although plays are performed in the evening, there are limited matinee shows. But in this case, not surprisingly, the play was houseful. It began right on time - 3.00 p.m. As the lights went out and the performance began, I sat back and relaxed in order to absorb every little detail and employ the little grey cells.

To begin with, I could not help but marvel at Agatha Christie's brilliance as a playwright. Her characters and dialogues are no less than those created by the most famous playwrights around the globe. They, like majority of her characters, are truly British. The stage time is 24 hours that is covered in the 2 hour 30 minutes performance time. And during these 2 hours and 30 minutes you cannot help but sit at the edge of your seat while your doubt shifts from the very peculiar Christopher Wren to the sudden arrival, Mr. Paravicini. And yet you can never guess that the real culprit is ... Sorry! I can't reveal the name because in the tradition of this play, I was not only a viewer but also their partner in crime. My lips are sealed! But I must confess that my little grey cells are no match for Monsieur Poirot's.

The beauty of the play lies in the fact that even after watching n number of performances you will still await the revelation with bated breadth. Partial credit for this goes to the medium of theatre, as was very aptly pointed out by a friend of mine with whom I shared my experience and excitement. Each new performance, even if performed by the same set of actors, will vary. And it is this variation that brings with it a new sense of mystery every time. But it can be said without doubt that it is the playwright's genius to create a story line that will seem new even after a number of performances; evident from that fact that the play has been attracting viewers for so many years and the audience does not seem to be getting tired.

If London is your next stop then St. Martin's should be on your 'Must Visit' list!