The Mousetrap
Theatre Na Vinohradech, Prague
"I think it's really quite exceptional, but after all there are plenty of boarding houses and plenty of murders."
The popular nursery rhyme about three blind mice inspired the original radio version of this play, and it echoes repeatedly on stage. During a winter snowstorm, the first guests arrive at the newly opened boarding house run by the Ralstons, and gradually traces of an old unsolved crime come to light. Eight characters find themselves trapped in the closed space of the house, most of whom are not who they claim to be — someone is committing murders and planning more, someone is investigating the crimes and trying to prevent them, and everyone is essentially a suspect.
The author herself was surprised by the exceptional reception of The Mousetrap. The play has been translated into 25 languages, and its London production has been running daily since 1952.