The Mousetrap – Bradford Alhambra

THE MOUSETRAP is the world’s longest-running play – but that doesn’t mean it’s anything like the world’s best play.

Its longevity is as much to do with its status as a “must see” for London tourists as it is the quality of Agatha Christie’s writing.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of the crime queen’s best stage plays and is well worth seeing if you’re a fan of whodunnits.

And the acting is excellent, the eight-strong cast treating The Mousetrap as a fresh piece of drama rather than a museum piece.

There’s tension, intrigue, thrills, shocks and occasional touches of comedy in this quintessential tale of strangers trapped in a snowbound hotel with a murderer.

But I must confess to being a little bored in the second half waiting for the cast to unmask the killer.

Recently-married hoteliers Mollie and Mark Ralston greet an eccentric bunch of guests to Monkswell Manor, only for one of them to be violently killed.

A policeman is sent to protect the others, armed with information that links Monkswell with a murder the previous day in nearby London.

Sgt Trotter’s investigations reveal that most, if not all, the guests have dark secrets, and someone is out for bloody revenge.

• Until Saturday. Visit bradford-theatres.co.uk or call 01274 432000.

• David Knights