The Mousetrap

In The Mousetrap, a murder mystery play set around 1950 in Berkshire, England, suspicions abound as characters wonder if they can really trust one another. At the beginning of the play, Giles Ralston worries that the strangers coming to stay at Monkswell Manor Guest House, which he and his wife Mollie are running, might be criminals. And as the story progresses, Mollie grows anxious that she may not truly know anyone, even her own…

As a whodunit, The Mousetrap sets up a central mystery (who is guilty of murder?) and ends with the killer’s capture, a straightforward demonstration of justice, law, and order triumphing over crime. But this play examines the notions of guilt, responsibility, and justice with greater complexity by presenting a situation in which the murderer is himself a victim of an earlier crime. As revealed in Act 2, Detective Sergeant Trotter is actually Georgie Corrigan, who…

The Mousetrap argues for the care and protection of the most vulnerable members of society, including people who are cast out to the fringes of their communities or neglected, abused, and forgotten. Among the guests at Monkswell Manor, Christopher Wren is quickly singled out and derided for his odd behavior. He’s called “peculiar,” “unbalanced,” and “singularly ill-mannered and neurotic.” Giles Ralston accuses him of murder so forcefully that Christopher feels like he’s being persecuted. In…