Agatha Christie: Queen of Crime and Ruler of the West End
Posted on 15 September 2024
There’s a queen in the West End, and she isn’t singing breakup ballads on The Stand…The queen of crime, Agatha Christie, has been killing it in theatreland for the past 72 years, and she shows no signs of stopping - despite turning 134 years old today!
Outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare, the acclaimed author has had more than two billion books published. But her tales transcend the pages. Her two shortest stories, Witness for the Prosecution (originally published under the title ‘Traitor's Hands’ in Flynn's, a weekly pulp magazine) and The Mousetrap (which started life as a 20 minute radio play, ‘Three Blind Mice’) are now the longest and most successful plays of all time. Even the famously reclusive writer ventured from Devon to see them! Combined, the critically acclaimed stage adaptations have been playing in theatres for 143 years. Let's grab a magnifying glass and investigate why.
The Mousetrap
The quintessential British play is the epitome of ‘Keep Calm and Carry On.’ On the 17th of May 2021 The Mousetrap was the first show to reopen in the West End after the COVID 19 pandemic, and when the production moved houses (one of the top three most stressful life events, alongside divorce and the death of a loved one) it didn’t miss a single performance! That’s right, in 1974 the set, costumes, props and tech equipment were transported from the Ambassadors Theatre to St Martins Theatre between performances. How did they do it? We’ve asked, but they’re very good at keeping secrets…
The biggest secret they’ve kept, is of course ‘whodunnit’. Yes, the longest running show of any kind in the world, has managed to keep the magic alive and the murderer a mystery for an astonishing 72 years! More than 500 actors have appeared in the London production, including real-life couple Richard Attenborough (Detective Sergeant Trotter) and Sheila Sim (Mollie Ralston), who opened the show in 1952. And we still have no idea which combination of actors are responsible for the murder at Monkswell Manor!
As you might expect with a seven-decade long run, a number of people have seen the show. From Queen Elizabeth II, who attended the show's 50th anniversary performance in 2002, to Wormwood Scrubs inmates in 1959. The prison guards were so enamoured by the production that two prisoners managed to slip past them and escaped from the institution. It must have been one hell of a show!
Speaking of shows, the longest running one took inspiration from one of the oldest. Adapted from a 20-minute radio play, ‘Three Blind Mice,’ The title of Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap is a reference to the play-within-the-play in Hamlet by William Shakespeare. And what a fitting name The Mousetrap is! The show has caught the attention of theatreland, with audiences flocking to the theatre to finally catch the killer. As of 2022, more than 10 million people have seen the show and with its 30,000-performance scheduled for mid-March 2025, plenty more are booked and waiting in the wings to see it too. Are you one of them?
Witness for the Prosecution
Having recently announced their West End extension (now booking until 28 September 2025), and summoned their twelfth cast to the court, more than 750,000 people have met the colourful cast of characters in the Witness for the Prosecution courtroom. Designed by architect Ralph Knott, the spectacular Chamber at London County Hall, where the play is staged, was officially opened by King George V and Queen Mary on 17 July 1922. For 64 years, County Hall served as the headquarters of local government for London. Now, more than 100 years after it first opened its doors, the stage is set for this criminally good show.
The production has been Critics’ Choice in the Guardian, Telegraph, Mail on Sunday and Times, and received an Olivier nomination for Best Revival. With plenty of five stars to its name, Witness for the Prosecution has also seen plenty of stars in the jury, including Isla Fisher, Kelly Holmes, Calvin Klein, Ian McKellen, David Suchet, George Takei and Ronnie Wood. However, the biggest celebrity fan is Agatha Christie herself. According to her autobiography, the courtroom thriller was one of Agatha Christie's favourites of all her works. Declaring in her memoir “one night at the theatre stands out in my memory especially; the first night of Witness for the Prosecution. I can safely say that that was the only first night I have enjoyed....It was one of my plays that I like best myself." She may have adapted the play in just three weeks, but the play stayed with her for a lifetime.
One record it has helped set is establishing Agatha Christie as the first, and only, female playwright to have three plays running concurrently in the West End. When Witness for the Prosecution first opened in London way back in 1953, The Mousetrap had already been running for a year. Spider's Web (which Agatha Christie wrote whilst in the Witness for the Prosecution dressing room) followed shortly after, premiering in 1954.
Directed by Lucy Bailey (Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None), the immersive, landmark production celebrates its 7th birthday this October. So why not join the celebrations? Just remember to heed the advice printed on the 1957 film’s poster, "You'll talk about it, but please don't tell the ending."
