The Mousetrap has recently celebrated 70 years in the West End, and it’s been announced that it will finally make its Broadway debut this year. How much do you know about this iconic play? As before the correct answer will turn green when it’s clicked upon and expanded to give more information. The incorrect answers will turn red giving the correct explanation.
1. The Mousetrap was originally written as what?
A bedtime story for a niece
WRONG It was originally a BBC radio play, written as an 80th birthday present for Queen Mary, wife of King George V, and broadcast in May 1947. It is the world’s longest-running theatrical show.
A birthday gift for a queen
CORRECT It was originally a BBC radio play, written as an 80th birthday present for Queen Mary, wife of King George V, and broadcast in May 1947. It is the world’s longest-running theatrical show.
An activity for a long train journey
WRONG It was originally a BBC radio play, written as an 80th birthday present for Queen Mary, wife of King George V, and broadcast in May 1947. It is the world’s longest-running theatrical show.
2. Which acting couple appeared in the original cast?
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor
WRONG Husband and wife couple took a 10 per cent stake in the production in exchange for part of their salaries. Richard Attenborough said of it: “Foolishly I sold some of my shares to open a short-lived Mayfair restaurant called the Little Elephant and, later still, disposed of the remainder to keep the 1982 film Gandhi afloat.”
Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim
CORRECT Husband and wife couple took a 10 per cent stake in the production in exchange for part of their salaries. Richard Attenborough said of it: “Foolishly I sold some of my shares to open a short-lived Mayfair restaurant called the Little Elephant and, later still, disposed of the remainder to keep the 1982 film Gandhi afloat.”
Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh
WRONG Husband and wife couple took a 10 per cent stake in the production in exchange for part of their salaries. Richard Attenborough said of it: “Foolishly I sold some of my shares to open a short-lived Mayfair restaurant called the Little Elephant and, later still, disposed of the remainder to keep the 1982 film Gandhi afloat.”
3. Which language has not been used in turning The Mousetrap to film?
English
CORRECT According to the company set up by Agatha Christie: ‘The contract terms of the play state that no film version can be made until the West End show has been closed for at least six months, and since it is still running, no official film has been made.’
Russian
WRONG According to the company set up by Agatha Christie: ‘The contract terms of the play state that no film version can be made until the West End show has been closed for at least six months, and since it is still running, no official film has been made.’
Bengali
WRONG According to the company set up by Agatha Christie: ‘The contract terms of the play state that no film version can be made until the West End show has been closed for at least six months, and since it is still running, no official film has been made.’
4. The Mousetrap was the first to place an advertisement at which venue?
Lord’s Cricket Ground
CORRECT In 1961, The Mousetrap made history by being the first advertiser of any kind at Lord’s when it was promoted on a cricket scorecard.
Wimbledon Championships
WRONG In 1961, The Mousetrap made history by being the first advertiser of any kind at Lord’s when it was promoted on a cricket scorecard.
Arsenal Football Club
WRONG In 1961, The Mousetrap made history by being the first advertiser of any kind at Lord’s when it was promoted on a cricket scorecard.
5. Who was given the rights to the play?
Christie’s grandson
CORRECT Agatha Christie gave the rights to the play to her grandson Mathew Prichard as a 9th birthday present.
Christie’s dogs
WRONG Agatha Christie gave the rights to the play to her grandson Mathew Prichard as a 9th birthday present.
Christie’s husband
WRONG Agatha Christie gave the rights to the play to her grandson Mathew Prichard as a 9th birthday present.
6. A charity performance is credited with what occurrence?
An actors’ strike
WRONG In 1959, the London cast put on a production for 300 prisoners at London’s Wormwood Scrubs. Fifteen minutes before the final curtain, warders discovered two inmates had escaped mid-performance.
A jailbreak
CORRECT In 1959, the London cast put on a production for 300 prisoners at London’s Wormwood Scrubs. Fifteen minutes before the final curtain, warders discovered two inmates had escaped mid-performance.
A local by-election
WRONG In 1959, the London cast put on a production for 300 prisoners at London’s Wormwood Scrubs. Fifteen minutes before the final curtain, warders discovered two inmates had escaped mid-performance.
7. The Mousetrap takes its name from an earlier play by which writer?
George Bernard Shaw
WRONG The suggestion to call it The Mousetrap came from Christie’s son-in-law, Anthony Hicks. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, ‘The Mousetrap’ is Hamlet’s answer to Claudius’s inquiry about the name of the play whose prologue and the first scene the court has just observed.
Oscar Wilde
WRONG The suggestion to call it The Mousetrap came from Christie’s son-in-law, Anthony Hicks. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, ‘The Mousetrap’ is Hamlet’s answer to Claudius’s inquiry about the name of the play whose prologue and the first scene the court has just observed.
William Shakespeare
CORRECT The suggestion to call it The Mousetrap came from Christie’s son-in-law, Anthony Hicks. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, ‘The Mousetrap’ is Hamlet’s answer to Claudius’s inquiry about the name of the play whose prologue and the first scene the court has just observed.
8. On an occasion such as cast changes, a cake is ceremoniously cut with a sword. What shape does it take?
The murderer
WRONG The cake is in the shape of a ticker counter that keeps track of the number of performances.
Agatha Christie
WRONG The cake is in the shape of a ticker counter that keeps track of the number of performances.
A ticker counter
CORRECT The cake is in the shape of a ticker counter that keeps track of the number of performances.
9. What was the play’s original title?
Three blind mice
CORRECT First broadcast on 30th May 1947 under the name Three Blind Mice starring Barry Morse, the story drew from the real-life case of Dennis O’Neill, who died after he and his brother Terence suffered extreme abuse while in the foster care of a Shropshire farmer and his wife in 1945.
Of mice and men
WRONG First broadcast on 30th May 1947 under the name Three Blind Mice starring Barry Morse, the story drew from the real-life case of Dennis O’Neill, who died after he and his brother Terence suffered extreme abuse while in the foster care of a Shropshire farmer and his wife in 1945.
The cat and mouse
WRONG First broadcast on 30th May 1947 under the name Three Blind Mice starring Barry Morse, the story drew from the real-life case of Dennis O’Neill, who died after he and his brother Terence suffered extreme abuse while in the foster care of a Shropshire farmer and his wife in 1945.
10. One actor has appeared in every production, in what form?
In a picture on the mantlepiece
WRONG The late Deryck Guyler provided the pre-recorded voice of the newsreader in the first act and the same recording is still used today.
As the newsreader on the radio
CORRECT The late Deryck Guyler provided the pre-recorded voice of the newsreader in the first act and the same recording is still used today.
Their image on a newspaper’s front page
WRONG The late Deryck Guyler provided the pre-recorded voice of the newsreader in the first act and the same recording is still used today.
CabbieBlog 