David Raven (10 February 1909 - 9 October 1971) is a former English actor who played Major Metcalf in 4,575 London performances of Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap [1] [2] between 1957 and 1968; this number of performances earned him an entry in The Guinness Book of Records. [3]
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap, which was performed in the West End from 1952 to 2020, as well as six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg was an English actress of stage and screen. Some of her notable roles were as Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969); Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2013–2017) and in her performance as Medea on Broadway and in the UK.
The Deep Blue Sea is a British stage play by Terence Rattigan from 1952. Rattigan based his story and characters in part on his secret relationship with Kenny Morgan, and the aftermath of the end of their relationship. The play was first performed in London on 6 March 1952, directed by Frith Banbury, and won praise for actress Peggy Ashcroft, who co-starred with Kenneth More. In the US, the Plymouth Theater staged the play in October 1952, with Margaret Sullavan. The play with Sullavan subsequently transferred to Broadway, with its Broadway premiere on 5 November 1953, and running for 132 performances.
The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The longest-running West End show, it has by far the longest initial run of any play in history, with its 27,500th performance taking place on 18 September 2018. The play has a twist ending, which the audience are traditionally asked not to reveal after leaving the theatre.
Madeline Smith is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s.
Christina Cole is an English actress known for portraying Cassie Hughes in the Sky One supernatural television series Hex.
A Daughter's a Daughter is a novel written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Heinemann on 24 November 1952. Initially unpublished in the US, it was later issued as a paperback by Dell Publishing in September 1963. It was the fifth of six novels Christie wrote under the nom-de-plume Mary Westmacott. Initially a play written by Christie in the late 1930s, the plot tells of a daughter's opposition to her mother's plan to remarry.
James Edward Carter, is an English film and television actor. He is best known for his role in Downton Abbey (2010–2015) playing Mr Carson, a role that has earned him four nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2012–2015). He reprised his role in the feature film Downton Abbey (2019).
St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of The Mousetrap since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world.
Witness for the Prosecution is a play adapted by Agatha Christie from her 1925 short story "Traitor's Hands". The play opened in London on 28 October 1953 at the Winter Garden Theatre. It was produced by Peter Saunders.
Sir Peter Saunders was an English theatre impresario, notable for his production of the long-running Agatha Christie murder mystery, The Mousetrap.
And Then There Were None is a 1943 play by crime writer Agatha Christie. The play, like the 1939 book on which it is based, was originally titled and performed in the UK as "Ten Little Niggers". It was also performed under the name Ten Little Indians.
David William Yelland is an English film, stage and television actor.
Agatha Christie (1890–1976) was an English crime novelist, short-story writer and playwright. Her reputation rests on 66 detective novels and 14 short-story collections that have sold over two billion copies, an amount surpassed only by the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare. Her works contain several regular characters with whom the public became familiar, including Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Parker Pyne and Harley Quin. Christie wrote more Poirot stories than any of the others, even though she thought the character to be "rather insufferable". Following the publication of the 1975 novel Curtain, Poirot's obituary appeared on the front page of The New York Times.
Isabel Dean was an English stage, film and television actress.
Richard Coleman was a British film, television and stage actor.
Rob Heanley is an English actor born in Surrey on 12 October 1980. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts from 2000–2003.
The Agatha Christie Memorial is a memorial to author and playwright Agatha Christie, located at the intersection of Cranbourn Street and Great Newport Street by St Martin's Cross near Covent Garden, in London, United Kingdom.
Arnold Diamond was an English character actor, regularly cast in small parts on television.
Mignon O'Doherty was an Australian actress who worked in British theatre, film and television.