"The Mousetrap" Stage Play Needs Males/Females

The young wife of Giles Ralston and the proprietor of Monkswell Manor. Despite knowing very little about the bed-and-breakfast business, she eagerly jumps into both business management and the household tasks of cooking and cleaning. Mollie is not as naive as she initially seems, especially when dealing with the difficult guest Mrs. Boyle or handling the oddball guest Christopher Wren. However, Mollie does have a mysterious past - revealed in connection with the murders of Longridge farm.

Giles Ralston is Mollie’s attentive and sometimes over-protective husband, managing Monkswell Manor alongside her. While Mollie attends to more of the household tasks, Giles works outside of their bed-and-breakfast establishment, chopping wood, chucking coal, and taking care of the hens. He is immediately suspicious of the young stranger Christopher Wren and argues against leaving Mollie alone with him. However, some of his actions arouse suspicion against him.

Christopher Wren is the first guest to arrive at Monkswell Manor, the establishment owned by Giles and Mollie Ralston. He is a young man in his early twenties, described as having long, disheveled hair and eccentric ties. Christopher is quickly enamored with Monkswell Manor, exploring all rooms and furniture. He actively flirts with Mollie, much to Giles’ frustration, and then takes on the task of helping Mollie cook meals. Because of his eccentric nature, he is an immediate suspect.

A former court magistrate, Mrs. Boyle is a pompous, pretentious woman who immediately presents herself as unlikeable and unsympathetic. She is quickly critical of Mollie and her ability to manage Monkswell Manor, and is in fact critical of the house itself. The younger guests - especially Miss Casewell and Christopher Wren - set out to antagonize her with great success. However, Mrs. Boyle is killed at the end of Act One, a result of her connection to the tragedies of Longridge Farm.

Major Metcalf is a jovial and sporting man, retired from the army and always willing to lend a hand. Little else is known about him, but in his interactions, he generally tries to raise the spirits of those around them: he sees shoveling snow as good exercise and compliments the simple breakfast in spite of a fellow guest’s complaints. Like the other guests of Monkswell Manor, he holds a surprising secret to his identity.

Described as “manly,” Miss Leslie Casewell arrives as an aloof guest at Monkswell Manor. She does not reveal much about her past, but in a conversation with proprietor Mollie Ralston, Miss Casewell advises ignoring psychiatrists and turning a back to the past. She is not afraid to manipulate people to get what she wants, but soon finds herself in a situation too overwhelming to manage.

Mr. Paravicini is the mysterious and unexpected guest at Monkswell Manor, the last to arrive when his car overturns in a snow drift. He reveals very little about who is he or where he is from, instead enjoying his strange sense of mystery and putting others ill at ease.

Sergeant Trotter arrives at snowed-in Monkswell Manor on skis, eager to find a person of interest connected with a murder in London the previous night. He also believes that a potential murder victim could be at Monkswell Manor, someone linked to the tragic Longridge Farm case of years past. He is abrasive and manipulative in his questioning, bordering on eccentric and myopic in his mission.