The Mousetrap Manchester

The Mousetrap Manchester: Agatha Christie’s famous whodunnit plays Manchester Opera House from Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October 2026 on its 75th anniversary tour. Evening performances start at 7.30pm from Monday to Saturday, with matinees at 2.30pm on Wednesday 28 and Saturday 31 October, so there are eight chances to work out who did it before the snow melts at Monkswell Manor.

The Mousetrap Manchester: what to expect at the Opera House

Manchester knows the Opera House on Quay Street as the home of blockbuster musicals, glittering pantomime and world premieres on their way to the West End. A Christie thriller is a change of pace for this grand, colonnaded building, and that is exactly why the week is worth catching. Inside, around 1,920 seats rise through two deep cantilevered balconies in green and gold, and the hush that falls when the lights dim on a single snowbound drawing room is something big musicals rarely manage. The play rewards close attention, and the Opera House auditorium, for all its size, keeps the stage surprisingly visible from the upper levels.

The dates fall at the end of October, when the evenings close in early and Castlefield’s canal towpaths turn dark and misty by six. It is hard to imagine a better time of year for a murder mystery. Halloween lands on the Saturday, so the final matinee and evening performance make an unusually atmospheric way to mark the night without a single costume or pumpkin in sight.

The story behind The Mousetrap

A woman is murdered in a London boarding house. Hours later, in the countryside, Mollie and Giles Ralston open their newly converted guesthouse to its first paying visitors just as a blizzard sets in. One by one the guests arrive: a restless young architect, a grand and disapproving lady, a retired army major, a cool and mannish young woman and an unexpected foreigner whose car has run into a drift. Then Detective Sergeant Trotter appears on skis, the telephone line goes dead, and everyone realises that the killer may be under the same roof. Audiences are asked, by a tradition older than most of the people watching, never to reveal the ending.

Who is in The Mousetrap tour cast in Manchester

Manchester audiences will see Nicholas Bailey, a familiar face from EastEnders, as the clipped Major Metcalf, and Susan Penhaligon, remembered for A Fine Romance and Bouquet of Barbed Wire, as the formidable Mrs Boyle. Emily Laing and Jack Hardwick play the newlyweds Mollie and Giles Ralston, with Thomas Barrett as the excitable Christopher Wren, Clare Duffy as Miss Casewell, James Peake as the mysterious Mr Paravicini and Alfie Richards as Detective Sergeant Trotter. Understudies are Ben Gresswell, Sophie Lagden, Judith Rae and Darren Ruston. Hannah Chissick directs, with lighting by Nic Farman, casting by Denise Silvey and resident direction by Myles Brown.

Why The Mousetrap still grips audiences after 75 years

The play opened in London in 1952 and has never closed, apart from the pause forced by the pandemic. It is now the longest running play in the world, and our guide to The Mousetrap at St Martin’s Theatre tells the story of how a radio sketch for Queen Mary became a theatrical institution. The secret of its staying power is simple: every character has something to hide, the clues are laid fairly, and the solution still surprises first timers. If you have only seen the London production, the touring version is a chance to watch the puzzle unfold in a very different kind of house.

Getting to Manchester Opera House for The Mousetrap

The theatre stands at 3 Quay Street, a short walk from Deansgate and Spinningfields. Deansgate station and the St Peter’s Square Metrolink stop are both within easy walking distance, and there are several multi storey car parks nearby. Pre theatre dining is plentiful along Deansgate and in Spinningfields, and the bars of the Opera House open well before curtain up. Our Manchester Opera House venue guide covers seating, access and the best views of the stage.

The Mousetrap UK tour after Manchester

Manchester follows New Brighton and comes just before the Lyceum in Sheffield. The next ATG stop is The Mousetrap in Aylesbury in November, and the company heads north again in the spring for The Mousetrap in Sunderland. The full route, from Birmingham in September 2026 to High Wycombe in July 2027, is on our Mousetrap UK tour page and in our Mousetrap 75th anniversary tour dates and cast article. Visiting London instead? The original production runs on at The Mousetrap at St Martin’s Theatre.

The Mousetrap Manchester dates and times

The Mousetrap plays for one week, 26–31 October 2026: evenings at 7.30pm from Monday to Saturday, with 2.30pm matinees on Wednesday and Saturday. The running time is approximately 2 hours 5 minutes, including a 20-minute interval, and the show is recommended for ages 7 and over.