St Martins Theatre - History
St Martin’s Theatre can be found on West Street in London, where the best transport links can be linked to Leciester Square for underground trains and Charing Cross Railway station for trains.
W G R Sprague, the famous architect who was responsible for many of the theatres that make up London’s theatreland, designed St Martin’s Theatre. It was initially drawn up in 1913 in the hope of creating it as a companion to The New Ambassadors theatre. However, the Great War was just around the corner and whilst some theatres were busy keeping up the morals of theatre goers all over the capital, the building of St Martins was delayed until 1916. It opened as a venue that was capable of creating much in the way of comfort for audiences and was considered considerably cosy at the time.
The history of the theatre is defined by its principle and world famous production. In this case it is Mousetrap, the Agatha Christie murder mystery that has been running at this location thirty four years, making it the longest running stage show in the world when taken into account that St Martin’s was not its original home. In total, it has been playing for fifty six years as of 2008 and has been seen by people all around the world.
Mousetrap first found its way to the stage in November 1952 when it was housed at the Ambassador’s Theatre. St Martin’s Theatre received the production in March 1974 and it is still there to this day. For thirty four years the show has kept things fresh by recycling the performers annually, meaning that in total, 382 performers have appeared in their respective roles throughout the decades.
The play takes place in a hotel that also makes up a recently renovated manor. Mollie and Giles Ralston are the proprietors and open up the business with shock as the numbers of guests that arrive are higher than expected. These take the form of Mrs Boyle, Miss Casewell, Major Metcalf, Mr Paravicini and Christopher Wren. However, things look suspicious when they receive a phone call telling them that the police intend to pay them a visit. The officer delivers news that there has been a murder and that is when matters get really serious. Great lengths are taken to make sure the ending is not revealed; even Agatha Christie went as far as to demand the story never make it to print. This is one of the many factors that has led to it remaining so popular after all these years.
In 2008 the play celebrated the 56 years it has been entertaining audiences. Who knows how long this world famous production will carry on? As it stands, there is no end in sight.
In 2000 the set was replaced for the first time during the run at St Martin's Theatre, still to the same design as the original. This task was completed over a weekend without the loss of a performance.
