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In its 70th year Agatha Christies’ 1952 murder masterpiece The Mousetrap is currently on a UK tour taking in – perhaps not so coincidentally – 70 venues.

This is one of those reviews that’s fairly tricky to write as audiences are sworn to secrecy by the cast at the end of the show, and all the fun in watching Agatha Christies’The Mousetrap is guessing who the murderer is and why.

If you don’t know the premise, then it is as follows: As news spreads of a murder in London, a group of seven strangers find themselves snowed in at Monkswell Manor, a remote countryside guesthouse. When a police sergeant arrives, the guests discover–to their horror–that a killer is in their midst. One by one, the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts. Which one is the murderer? Who will be their next victim? Why did they do it?

The cast is a mixture of stars from screen and stage most of which I could have sworn I’d seen in something else before and probably had.

Good performances from all the cast, in particular the quirky and camp Christopher Wren (Elliot Clay) Mrs Boyle (Gwyneth Strong – Casandra from Only Fools and Horses); EastEnders star Todd Carty as Major Metcalf and John Altman as Mr Paravicini. But its Joseph Reed as Detective Sgt Trotter that gives the stage a boost of life.

For me I’d have preferred in this 70th year to have seen a bit of a twist, perhaps an element of modernisation to engage new audiences. However on leaving the theatre with my twelve year old who had been guessing ‘who done it’ all the way through, she announced that it had been fantastic and she really loved it. So what do I know. No need for modernisation for the kids at all.

If you have never seen The Mousetrap before then do join the over 10 million others who have seen in it London alone. You won’t regret it. It’s a old fashioned murder mystery which is comforting in its predictability, albeit I didn’t see the murderer coming at all. Shhhhh

The Mousetrap is at the Liverpool Empire Theatre from Monday 7th–Saturday 12th November 2022

Tickets www.atgtickets.com/liverpool

Full tour schedule at MousetrapOnTour.co.uk