Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap

World’s Longest Running Play at the Colonial

By: Charles Giuliano - Jul 27, 2025

The Mousetrap
By Agatha Christie
Directed by Gerry McIntyre
Scenic designer, Bryce Cutler; Costumes, Dustin Cross; Lighting, Sam Rushen; Sound, Joanne Lynne Staub; Projections, Bryce Cutler; Dialect coach, Jennifer Scapetis
Cast: Christopher Wren (Greg Cuellar), Mrs. Boyle (Thursday Farrar), Major Metcalf (Michael Kostroff), Giles Ralston (Keshav Moodliar), Mollie Ralston (Gillian Saker), Miss Caswell (Bernadette Sefic), Mr. Paravicini (Matt Sullivan), Sargent Trotter (Allen Tedder).
The Colonial Theatre
Berkshire Theatre Group
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
July 24 through August 17

The setting is a stately but somewhat ramshackle country home about an hour by train from London. It’s been nicely designed by Bryce Cutler with dark wood, a leaded window, lots of doors, side rooms, and stairs for the elaborately crafted plot.

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap opened to mixed reviews in 1952, and other than a hiatus for Covid, is still running. It’s a London tourist trap and as much a site to see as Big Ben and the museums.

With no heavy lifting, it’s a wonderfully entertaining evening of theatre at the Colonial in Pittsfield. During this time of stress and political high anxiety it’s a chance to leave your troubles behind and just enjoy this silly, perennial whodunit from the renowned mistress of mystery.

A blizzard will snow them in as the couple Mollie and Giles Ralston (Gillian Saker and Keshav Moodliar) anxiously await the arrival of their first guests. It’s their first anniversary and with no staff they have opened their home as Monkswell Manor. The radio (wireless if we are true to the period) announces a nearby murder.

Originally titled Three Blind Mice, Christie based her plot on a true event. Dennis O'Neill died after he and his brother Terence suffered extreme abuse while in the foster care of a Shropshire farmer and his wife in 1945. They were convicted and he died in prison while she was released and subsequently murdered presumably by a surviving sibling of which there are two.

With no experience in the hospitality trade the Ralstons hope to make a go of it. With a clipboard she awaits the guests who arrive recounting varying challenges of the worsening weather. By morning they will be snowed in and cut off from the outside world. Hopefully they have enough provisions and fuel to stay warm and fed. A period reference to post war rationing her mentions of opening up some tins.

Shaking off the snow one-by-one we meet the guests. Mrs. Boyle (Thursday Farrar) is rather obnoxious noting sharply how the accommodations, including the obvious lack of staff, do not meet her standards. Given her unpleasant disposition there is some guilty pleasure experienced when she is dispatched.

She proves to be the second of the three blind mice to be murdered in an act of revenge. The arrival of Sergeant Trotter on skis announces that there will be yet another and that everyone assembled is a potential suspect. That included the Ralstons who turn on each other. After just a year Trotter probes just what they really know about each other.

Christopher Wren (Greg Cuellar) an aspiring architect is named for one of England’s most renowned. He has an exuberant and flitty manner which annoys Mr. Ralston but endears him to the lady of the manor. He “loves to cook” and is a welcome volunteer. Fitting a general profile he becomes a prime suspect.

We don’t know much about Major Metcalf (Michael Kostroff) but that will be revealed later. Miss Caswell (Bernadette Sefic) a heavy set young woman in male attire lives abroad and has a secret mandate for visiting. She helps herself to the complimentary booze and chain smokes.

To be sure, Mr. Paravacini (Matt Sullivan) with a strong accent and smarmy manner, generally hams it up chewing scenery. He has landed at the manor as a port in the storm. His fancy car has flipped into a snow drift and he managed to storm into the inn. Mrs. Ralston accommodates him with the last and smallest room.

So there you have it. The suspects are now assembled as the plot thickens. Sergeant Trotter is at the center of all this. When he attempted to call the station to report the status of the case the phone line has been cut. Ditto for the one upstairs. Even his skis, a means of reporting in, have gone missing.

As to exposition we will have to leave you with that. Christie deplored reviews that revealed the surprise ending. Audiences are instructed to keep it secret and so shall we.

The direction of Gerry McIntyre is the best that one could hope for in this classic mystery. The cast is uniformly excellent and he moves them about at a brisk and enticing pace. As Mollie Ralston the performance of Gillian Saker is particularly notable. Much of the action and plot development revolves around her which she handles with aplomb. Allen Tedder is suitably apt as the investigating copper.

For the best flat out fun of the Berskhire theatre season do yourself a favor and find out for yourself whodunit. There’s an obvious reason why this play which runs forever is all too briefly at the exquisite Colonial Theatre.