Mousetrap needs tighter screws

AGATHA Christie's classic murder mystery The Mousetrap is a good 60 years old, but feels older than that. And it's not because the play isn't a perfectly constructed whodunnit - it is Christie, after all. But the premise of six murder suspects trapped in a remote house has become such a genre cliche that a production as faithful as this can't help but feel antiquated.

Directed by Denise Silvey - a former cast member of the play - the story takes place in a country guesthouse run by young married couple Mollie and Giles Ralston (played by Isla Carter and Tim Wallers).

Four guests show up: the no-nonsense Major Metcalfe (John Faulkner), the reticent Miss Casewell (Katharine Heath), the querulous Mrs Boyle (Sarah Whitlock) and the peculiar young man Christopher (Richard Keightley).