La Souricière ・ Comédie-Française

“It’s as if Feydeau wrote a murder mystery”, said Lilo Baur about her seventh collaboration with the Comédie-Française. This play, little-know in France, is a real gem from Agatha Christie’s tremendous literary production. “The Mousetrap”, which premiered in London in 1952, is the opportunity to enjoy a stage version of all the components of the mystery genre that made the Queen of Crime famous.

The scene for the investigation is immediately set: a remote guesthouse recently opened by a young couple, where a snowstorm forces the guests to get off their cab at the end of the path and carry their own luggage to the door. A murder is announced on the radio: the suspect is described as wearing a dark overcoat, light scarf and felt hat, an all-too-ordinary outfit adorned by all the guests when they check in. The guests are still snowed in when an inspector arrives at the door on skis; a map of the inn has been found on the crime scene, with a note indicating more murders are coming. Despite the precautions taken, a scream rings out, and the atmosphere becomes tense when Mrs Boyle’s lifeless body is found. Inspector Trotter takes charge of the investigation.
Serge Bagdassarian and Lilo Baur produced a new translation of the play, which particularly respects the various registers traditionally used by Christie to underline the diversity of the characters’ social backgrounds and lively personalities. The director especially enjoyed the fast pace of the text, highlighted by constant entrances and exits. She is eager for the actors and audience to experience the unmatched suspense of this murder mystery play.

NEW PRODUCTION

BOOKING OPENS ON
JAN 25