The Ivy and The Mousetrap
The West End of London, and two landmarks in the same image – The Ivy restaurant and St Martin’s Theatre, which hosts the most famous play in the world, now in its 73rd year of a non-stop run.
The play is, of course, The Mousetrap, which began life as a 20-minute BBC radio play, Three Blind Mice. But the writer, Agatha Christie, expanded it to a full-length stage play which opened in London in 1952. It’s been running ever since, and is the longest-running theatre production anywhere in the world. Before it opened, Christie gave the royalties to her grandson, Matthew Pritchard, without any idea that it would become the phenomenon that it now is. Lucky man!
The Ivy restaurant opened in 1917. It has become a theatrical institution and a popular haunt of showbusiness people, so much so that mobile phones and cameras are forbidden in the restaurant. There are now some 30 other Ivy restaurants around the UK, but this one, in West Street, London, is the original.
The Ivy and The Mousetrap
The West End of London, and two landmarks in the same image – The Ivy restaurant and St Martin’s Theatre, which hosts the most famous play in the world, now in its 73rd year of a non-stop run.
The play is, of course, The Mousetrap, which began life as a 20-minute BBC radio play, Three Blind Mice. But the writer, Agatha Christie, expanded it to a full-length stage play which opened in London in 1952. It’s been running ever since, and is the longest-running theatre production anywhere in the world. Before it opened, Christie gave the royalties to her grandson, Matthew Pritchard, without any idea that it would become the phenomenon that it now is. Lucky man!
The Ivy restaurant opened in 1917. It has become a theatrical institution and a popular haunt of showbusiness people, so much so that mobile phones and cameras are forbidden in the restaurant. There are now some 30 other Ivy restaurants around the UK, but this one, in West Street, London, is the original.