Classic whodunnit thriller The Mousetrap to be staged in Hong Kong next month
It's now our turn to guess who the murderer is in the world's longest-running play, writesJoyee Chan
A blizzard traps eight people in a hotel in Agatha Christie's classic thriller The Mousetrap. They are a peculiar lot: a newlywed couple, a prickly older woman, a flamboyant architect, a retired military man, an enigmatic girl, an unexpected foreigner, and a police detective. Among them hides a murderer on the run who has just killed a child, and could strike again any time.
The world's longest-running play, set in 1952, has made hundreds of thousands of people scratch their heads until the end. South African director Alan Swerdlow says it's now Hongkongers' turn to guess. He brings the classic whodunnit to the city next month - with a fresh interpretation.
The Mousetrap has remained popular for so long because it is so well constructed, with a terrific twist quite unlike Christie's other works, Swerdlow says.
"It was one of the first murder mysteries really to explore the psychology and motivations of a killer. It is really CSI [in] Berkshire 1952."
"World's longest-running play opens in Hong Kong" Video by Hedy Bok
He says while his production is truthful to Christie's intentions, it is in no way old-fashioned; or as he put it, not to be "dried out and stuck behind glass" like a "museum piece".
Swerdlow uses actors of the ages Christie specified in the script - London productions since the 1960s have employed older actors. "This decision brings a different energy to the piece and makes it more believable," he says.