PRESS RELEASE – Friday 9 November WWW.MOUSETRAPONTOUR.COM Adam Spiegel and Stephen Waley-Cohen present THE MOUSETRAP TOUR AGATHA CHRISTIE’S RECORD-BREAKING MURDER MYSTERY THE MOUSETRAP ANNOUNCES MAJOR NATIONAL TOUR FOR 2019 FEATURING ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES STAR GWYNETH STRONG AS MRS BOYLE OPENING AT GUILDFORD YVONNE ARNAUD IN JANUARY 2019, THE LEGENDARY WHODUNNIT IS EMBARKING ON AN EXTENSIVE TOUR OF THE UK WHILE CONTINUING ITS RECORD-BREAKING RUN IN THE WEST END GWYNETH STRONG WILL PERFORM FOR 24 WEEKS THROUGH TO AND INCLUDING NORWICH, JULY 2019. STAR CASTING WILL SOON BE ANNOUNCED FOR ALL FOLLOWING VENUES. FOR BOOKING INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT: WWW.MOUSETRAPONTOUR.COM IMAGES OF GWYNETH STRONG AS MRS BOYLE ARE AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD HERE The Mousetrap, the legendary whodunnit from Queen of Crime, Dame Agatha Christie, today announces a major national tour opening in January 2019 starring Gwyneth Strong (Only Fools and Horses) as Mrs Boyle, directed by Gareth Armstrong. This unstoppable West End hit has been delighting theatregoers for 67 years with its macabre murder mystery. Following a record-breaking 60th anniversary debut tour in 2012, this timeless thriller The Mousetrap returns by popular demand, opening at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on 29 January 2019 launching an extensive new tour that will travel the length and breadth of the country giving audiences all across the UK the opportunity to discover theatre’s best kept secret. Following Guildford, The Mousetrap will tour to Northampton Royal & Derngate, Sheffield Lyceum, Colchester Mercury, Southport Theatre, Sunderland Empire, High Wycombe Swan, Bromley Churchill , Cheltenham Everyman, Oxford Playhouse, Crewe Lyceum, Coventry Belgrade, Crawley Hawth, Darlington Hippodrome, Exeter Northcott, Salford Lowry, York Grand Opera House, Edinburgh Playhouse, Liverpool Empire, Southend Palace, Nottingham Theatre Royal, Bristol Hippodrome, Stoke Regent, Brighton Theatre Royal, Norwich Theatre Royal, Malvern Festival, Bournemouth Pavilion, Dartford Orchard, Eastbourne Devonshire Park and Cardiff New Theatre. Further venues to be announced. Gwyneth Strong will perform as Mrs Boyle for 24 weeks through to Norwich, with further star casting to be announced. The cast also includes David Alcock (Mr Paravacini), Geoff Arnold (Detective Sgt. Trotter), Nick Biadon (Giles Ralston), Lewis Chandler (Christopher Wren), John Griffiths (Major Metcalf), Harriett Hare (Mollie Ralston) and Saskia Vaigncourt-Strallen (Miss Caswell). Gwyneth Strong is best known for her role in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses in which she starred in the role of Cassandra. The role gained Gwyneth mainstream recognition and she appeared in the hit comedy show as well as several Christmas specials between 1989 and 2003. More recently, she joined the cast of EastEnders in the role of Geraldine Clough. Other television credits include The Great Train Robbery, Silent Witness, Casualty, Doctors and Murder in Suburbia. Gwyneth appeared in the UK tour of Our House, in which she played Kath Casey. Her stage credits also include Stand (Oxford Playhouse/Battersea Arts) Monkey Bars (Unicorn Theatre), A Round-Heeled Woman (Aldwych), When You Cure Me (Bush Theatre), Ancient Lights (Hampstead Theatre) and Care (Royal Court). First seen in Nottingham in 1952 starring Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim, The Mousetrap went on to become the world’s longest running stage production following its West End transfer to The Ambassadors in 1952 and St Martins in 1973 where it has played ever since, continuing a record-breaking run with over 27,500 performances in London so far. The beloved murder mystery returns to the road following the success of the first ever UK tour in 2012. The Mousetrap continues its open-ended run at St. Martin’s Theatre, London. -ENDS- For further information please contact Chloe Pritchard-Gordon / Su-Ann Chow-Seegoolam / Lydia Aaronson The Corner Shop PR on 020 7831 7657 NOTES TO EDITORS BIOGRAPHIES Gareth Armstrong has worked across the world as both a director and actor. He was an Artistic Director of Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre where he directed classics including Shakespeare, Shaw and Chekov and modern works from Coward to Stoppard. He is a founding director of the Made in Wales Stage Company and previously an Associate Artist Director at the Salisbury Playhouse. Gareth most recently directed Hugh Whitemore’s Sand in the Sandwiches seen in the West End and on UK tour. He has written and performed his own solo play, Shylock, which premiered at the Salisbury Playhouse and toured internationally for ten years. David Alcock is the recipient of the South African Fleur du Cap and Vita Life theatre awards. He has performed in many production at the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton, including Waiting for Godot, Twelfth Night, The Tempest and Our Country's Good. His stage credits also include The Taming of the Shrew (Bristol Old Vic) and Kiss Me Kate (Pitlochry Festival Theatre). His touring credits include Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and South Pacific. Geoff Arnold’s theatre credits include Pride and Prejudice (Regent’s Park Theatre), Catch 22 (Northern Stage UK Tour), Mansfield Park (Theatre Royal) and Molly (Pleasance Courtyard). He has also appeared on screen in Cold Blow Lane. Nick Biadon most recently performed in the UK tour of Still Alice. His stage credits including Macbeth (Catford Broadway), ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore (Tristan Bates) and The Bacchae (Lazarus Theatre). Lewis Chandler is delighted to be making his UK tour debut with The Mousetrap. His previous theatre credits include Foul Pages (Hope Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Creation Theatre) and The Devil is an Ass (Mercurius Theatre). Lewis played the title character in Film Noir parody Trimble which was nominated for a BBC Audio Drama Award. John Griffiths’ West End theatre credits include The Sound of Music (London Palladium), The Woman in White (Palace Theatre), The Royal Family (Haymarket), The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s) and Oliver! (Aldwych). He has also appeared in the national tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well as Volpone at the National Theatre and The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kiss Me Kate and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Harriett Hare has performed on stage in The White Carnation (Finborough & Jermyn Street Theatre), Look Back in Anger (Reading Rep Theatre Company), Body Language (Suffolk Summer Theatre) and All Creatures Great and Small (UK tour). Harriett has also voiced for gaming and animation franchises and international campaigns for well-known brands. Saskia Vaigncourt-Strallen has performed on stage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lazarus Theatre Company), All the Angels (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Southwark Playhouse), Scrooge (London Palladium) and the national tour of Oklahoma!. She also appeared in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. LISTINGS TOUR DATES Tuesday 29 January – Saturday 2 February 2019 YVONNE ARNAUD, GUILDFORD https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk Box office: 01483 44 00 00 Monday 4 – Saturday 9 February 2019 ROYAL & DERNGATE, NORTHAMPTON www.royalandderngate.co.uk 01604 624811 Monday 11 – Saturday 16 February 2019 SHEFFIELD LYCEUM www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk 0114 249 6000 Monday 18 – Saturday 23 February 2019 MERCURY THEATRE, COLCHESTER www.mercurytheatre.co.uk 01206 573948 Monday 25 – Wednesday 27 February 2019 SOUTHPORT THEATRE AND CONVENTION CENTRE www.atgtickets.com/venues/southport-theatre-and-convention-centre 0844 871 3021 Thursday 28 February – Saturday 2 March 2019 SUNDERLAND EMPIRE www.atgtickets.com/venues/sunderland-empire 0844 871 3022 Monday 4 – Saturday 9 March 2019 WYCOMBE SWAN THEATRE, HIGH WYCOMBE https://wycombeswan.co.uk 01494 512 000 Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 March 2019 CHURCHILL THEATRE, BROMLEY https://churchilltheatre.co.uk 020 3285 6000 Monday 18 – Saturday 23 March 2019 EVERYMAN THEATRE, CHELTENHAM www.everymantheatre.org.uk 01242 572573 Monday 25 – Saturday 30 March 2019 OXFORD PLAYHOUSE www.oxfordplayhouse.com 01865 305305 Monday 1 – Saturday 6 April 2019 CREWE LYCEUM https://crewelyceum.co.uk 01270 368 242 Monday 8 – Saturday 13 April 2019 BELGRADE THEATRE, COVENTRY www.belgrade.co.uk 024 7655 3055 Monday 22 – Saturday 27 April 2019 HAWTH THEATRE, CRAWLEY www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/The-Hawth 01293 553636 Monday 29 April – Saturday 4 May 2019 DARLINGTON HIPPODROME www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk 01325 405405 Monday 6 – Saturday 11 May 2019 NORTHCOTT THEATRE, EXETER https://exeternorthcott.co.uk 01392 72 63 63 Monday 13 – Saturday 18 May 2019 LOWRY THEATRE, SALFORD www.thelowry.com 0843 208 6000 Monday 20 – Saturday 25 May 2019 GRAND OPERA HOUSE, YORK https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/grand-opera-house-york 0844 871 3024 Monday 27 – Wednesday 29 May 2019 EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE www.atgtickets.com/venues/edinburgh-playhouse 0844 871 3014 Thursday 30 May – Saturday 1 June 2019 LIVERPOOL EMPIRE www.atgtickets.com/venues/liverpool-empire 0844 871 3017 Monday 3 – Saturday 8 June 2019 (on general sale 27 November) SOUTHEND PALACE THEATRE www.palacetheatresouthend.co.uk 01702 351135 Monday 17 – Saturday 22 June 2019 NOTTINGHAM THEATRE ROYAL https://trch.co.uk 0115 989 5555 Monday 24 – Wednesday 26 June 2019 BRISTOL HIPPODROME https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome/ 0844 871 3012 Thursday 27 – Saturday 29 June 2019 STOKE REGENT THEATRE https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/regent-theatre/ 0844 871 7649 Monday 1 – Saturday 6 July 2019 BRIGHTON THEATRE ROYAL https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-brighton/