Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap extends booking to 2052

It has been announced that the West End's longest running production, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, has extended its booking to 2052 to celebrate the show's centenary at the St Martin's Theatre in London's West End.

The production originally opened in 1952 and starred Richard Attenborough alongside his wife Sheila Sim. It opened at the St Martin's Theatre on 25 Mar 1974 where it recently entered its 63rd year in London, making it the longest running show, of any kind, in the world.

To celebrate the historic extension, LondonTheatre.co.uk will be donating all the profits of ticket sales for The Mousetrap sold on 1st April 2016 to Mousetrap Theatre Projects, a theatre education charity dedicated to bringing the magic of theatre into the lives of disadvantaged young people.

Producer Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen said of the news: "I don't see why it should ever end. By extending booking until our 100th birthday in 2052, we make it possible for people to make their plans to come and see the world's longest running show whenever they like."

It was also announced that the production would be updated to reflect modern life and technology throughout the extended booking period, marking the first time that the original play has been updated in order to relate to audiences in 2052. At a photo call this week the cast experimented with how new technology could be used within the production.

Written by Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap follows a group of people gathered together in a remote part of the countryside who discover there is a murderer in their midst. The question is which one of them is the guilty party?

The West End production will tonight celebrate its 26,417th performance, and its centenary, on the 25th November 2052, will celebrate its 41,848th performance.

Mousetrap Productions has licensed 60 productions of the play worldwide to mark the 60th year and has been seen in every continent, with professional productions in Australia, China, Korea, Turkey, South Africa, Russia, Venezuela, and across Europe, the United States and Canada.

Mousetrap Theatre Projects is a theatre education charity dedicated to bringing the magic of theatre into the lives of young people. 

 Updated: April Fool! As wonderful as The Mousetrap is, they haven't extended until 2052...although we're pretty sure they'll still be going by then. Thanks for sharing our little joke, but remember - all profits from ticket sales to the show today will go to Mousetrap Theatre Projects - that part was 100% true! So make sure you grab your tickets today to support a wonderful cause.