By Tyler Williams
Staff Writer
Remember the nursery rhyme called Three Blind Mice? When I attended The University Players’ production of “The Mousetrap,” the one thing that I could say that trapped me aside from the nursery rhyme was the story behind it.
“The Mousetrap” is a murder mystery about a killer that haunted the Great Hall of Monkswell Manor. The setting takes place in twentieth century England and it is a snowy winter that is in the play.
The main characters are a couple named Mollie and Giles Ralston who are a young couple that run the business of Monkswell Manor. The Ralston’s receive guests due to the heavy snow that had taken place. Five guests in total were trapped inside of the manor and one of them was identified as the murderer. One thing is for sure, the murderer was definitely enjoying his stay at Monkswell Manor.
The play was originally made by Agatha Christie who was a crime novelist, playwright, and short story writer in England during the twentieth century. When it comes to the accuracy of the costumes, acting, and the scenery, it was almost like I was in England. The production team and the cast have really committed to making the production as authentic as possible.
The set of the play looked like someone else’s home. The production actually had a window to make it look like it was snowing outside. The set pieces were as real as real can be; the director must have really put a hole in his pocket just to make this production look as authentic as possible.
The costumes looked like they had been imported from 20th century England. It was obvious the team put in considerable effort in capturing the aesthetics of 20th century England.
The actors really made me feel like they were the characters they were portraying. They did not hesitate to do their part or even giggle, and there was not a single slip up with the cast’s performance.
