Sock ‘n’ Buskin (SnB) Theatre Company’s production of The Mousetrap, a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie set in the ‘50s, opened on Feb. 1.
The audience is asked not to reveal the identity of the murderer at the end of the night, which sets the pace for a thrilling mystery.
The play is centred around the deception of first impressions, set in the English countryside.
The show pulls off a comic first murder with the death of Molly Kalnitsky. Caitlin Shanahan and Meg Sutton share the role of Maureen Lyon, who appears for only a brief scene.
As a winter storm brews, newlyweds Mollie (Paris Healey) and Giles Ralston (Christian Giansante) invite five larger-than-life visitors into their new Monkswell Manor guest house. Things turn for the worst when news of the murder is announced on the radio.
The guests find out that the murderer must be among themselves, an eccentric architect Christopher Wren (Tyreike Reid), a retired army major Metcalf (Mitchell Kedrosky), a mysterious traveller Paravincini (Mary Sword), an old woman Mrs. Boyle (Molly McGuire) and a strange figure Ms. Casewell (Meghan Boyer). They must help Sergeant Trotter (Keara Williams) figure out who the murderer is before they strike again.
Healey and Giansante work great together, and their marriage truly is believable. This play has many challenging components to it, one being that the audience needs to continuously play an active role in figuring out who they think the murderer is. Healey and Giansante do a good job keeping the audience suspicious and on their toes, which is essential.
Standout performances by Reid and McGuire help the show move quickly, propelling their energies and making for great comedic moments. Their characters require a lot of commitment, and they never break it.
The set is used well, with four on-stage entrances and exits which work to create a new environment for these eccentric characters. This is thanks to Christian Giansante, credited with scenic design and set construction. The play features a lot of movement, and the set allows them to do it effortlessly.
Some of the touches, including props such as the newspaper in Act 1 could have been more authentic pieces. If the play is set in the 1950s, it needs to be believable. Seeing a current newspaper on stage pulls focus—same idea with the cigarettes, which are an important prop, but pull focus as are they are so clearly fake.
Nonetheless, this production is sure to leave you feeling like a sleuth.
The Mousetrap is being performed on Feb. 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. in Kailash Mital Theatre.
Image provided
