Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap will open on Broadway for the first time after 70 years on the London stage.

The world’s longest-running play was first staged in London in 1952 and has never been performed in New York, but is now set to open there in 2023.

It will be a co-production between the The Mousetrap UK’s producer Adam Spiegel and Tony-award winner Kevin McCollum, whose credits include Broadway productions of British hit shows The Play That Goes Wrong and Six.

Julie Walters
Julie Walters, Miranda Hart, Hugh Bonneville and Tamsin Greig among the celebrity actors who starred in The Mousetrap fundraiser (The Mousetrap/PA)

McCollum said: “I am thrilled that Agatha Christie’s beloved murder mystery that changed popular theatre and has been a landmark attraction for US visitors to London’s West End for the past 70 years will now be coming to Broadway.

“I’m excited for the huge Christie fan-base in North America, and for the acting company in New York who will join the esteemed ranks of The Mousetrap alumni.”

Spiegel said: “There can be no better way to mark today’s milestone in The Mousetrap’s illustrious run, than to look ahead to a production in New York.

Nick Newman
Cartoon to mark The Mousetrap 70th anniversary (Nick Newman/PA)

“I feel after the longest out of town try-out in history, The Mousetrap is finally ready to transfer to Broadway.”

In celebration of the anniversary, Private Eye writer and cartoonist Nick Newman has created a carton commemorating 70 years since the show first opened in London.

The Mousetrap has been performed 28,915 times in the city, according to the producers of the production.

It is against Christie’s wishes for the play to be performed on Broadway, according to the Times.