by Agatha Christie
translated from the English by Horst Willems
DIRECTED BY: Rafael Sanchez
SCHIFFBAU HALLE
PREMIERE: 03.10.2026
2 hours 30 minutes (incl. interval)
1950s Britain: the newly opened guesthouse at Monkswell Manor – an old country estate that feels as though it “has been lived in by generations of the same family with dwindling resources” – is cut off from the rest of the world by a violent snowstorm. The boarding-house guests – all peculiar individuals of Britain’s upper and middle classes – are confined to the Great Hall, and left to their own devices.
Then Detective Sergeant Trotter bursts into the doorway on skis, with a warning: all those inside are in mortal danger. Who is hiding what from whom? And are any of them really what they appear to be? Doubt has been cast, and familiar certainties are beginning to crack: “Perhaps you can’t trust anybody – perhaps everybody’s a stranger.”
Inspired by true events, THE MOUSETRAP is Agatha Christie’s masterclass in crime storytelling, brimming with red herrings, hidden identities, and dark secrets. The result is an in-depth exploration of the “mechanics of fear”: how does fear shape how we think and act?
Since 1952, THE MOUSETRAP has been performed in London’s West End, making it the longest-running show in theatre history. Exactly fifty years after the death of the Queen of Crime, co-artistic director Rafael Sanchez stages DIE MAUSEFALLE in the Schiffbau Halle, where the set of IL GATTOPARDO is revived – offering the Sicilian palazzo a new lease of life.
♥ Supported by the Schauspielhaus Förder Circle and Else v. Sick Stiftung
Performances in English
Selected performances will be presented in English. Dates can be found under the title THE MOUSETRAP on the respective production page.
Markus Scheumann
Sinikka Weber
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The second episode of PLAY is all about Agatha Christie’s DIE MAUSEFALLE. Why is this classic crime thriller being staged at the Schauspielhaus Zürich? What makes Agatha Christie’s writing and her characters so fascinating even today? And how do you perform and stage a crime thriller on stage? Director Rafael Sanchez talks to Verena Jost and Peter Knaack about working on DIE MAUSEFALLE, British humour, characters and suspects, their visit to the original London production – and the joy of crime thrillers.
CONTENT NOTE
The production contains some ableist language.
SENSORY NOTE
The production includes loud music and flashing lights at times.