Who would thought that Agatha Christie’s whodunnit The Mousetrap would become the longest running play in the world? Clearly not Christie herself, who stipulated that the story couldn’t be filmed until at least six months after the West End production had closed. But 70 years since opening in 1952, the record-breaking play is still running in London’s West End (returning after a COVID hiatus).

In 2012, to celebrate its 60th anniversary, 60 productions were licensed around the world, including one in Australia. A decade on, The Mousetrap is back, with a 70th-anniversary Australian production, produced by John Frost for Crossroads Live and directed by Robyn Nevin.

Yes, it’s a deeply old-fashioned stage entertainment, but the nostalgia associated with it is part of the charm. What’s more, Nevin’s production makes the most of all that the play offers and is hugely diverting.

Alex Rathgeber, Laurence Boxhall, Anna O’Byrne, Tom Conroy and Adam Murphy in The Mousetrap. Photo © Brian Geach

Set in an isolated country house, recently married young couple Mollie (Anna O’Byrne) and Giles Ralston (Alex Rathgeber) are awaiting the first arrivals at their newly opened guesthouse, Monkswell Manor.

As a blizzard...