BANGALORE, INDIA: It was one of the best kept 'open secret' of the world. All Agatha Christie fans knew what was the climax of the iconic play 'The Mousetrap'. However, as a practice, no one disclosed the name of the killer in the play even after over 24,000 performances so far, ever since its maiden performance in 1952. And the theatre too requested the audience not to share the dramatic climax with anyone.

However, finally the cat is out of the bag. Wikipedia has revealed the secret of the famous murder mystery play by identifying the killer in the world's longest running play, despite the protests from the author's family and petitions from fans who think the revelation is a spoiler.

Angry at the revelation, Matthew Prichard, Christie's grandson, who described the decision of Wikipedia as “unfortunate”, said he will raise the matter with the play's producer, Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen.

"My grandmother always got upset if the plots of her books or plays were revealed in reviews – and I don't think this is any different. It's a pity if a publication, if I can call it that, potentially spoils enjoyment for people who go to see the play."

Prichard was given the rights to 'The Mousetrap' on his ninth birthday.

According to him, from the point of view of the theatre-going public, it would spoil the enjoyment of those going to have an entertaining evening at the theatre.

However, Wikipedia, justified the decision to reveal the ending of the play. “Our purpose is to collect and report notable knowledge. It’s exceedingly easy to avoid knowing the identity of the murderer: just don’t read it,” it said.

According to Wikipedia, asking it not to reveal the identity of the murderer is like asking a library to remove copies of The Mousetrap book from shelves because someone could just go and read the end.

Agatha Christie, famous for creating detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, has over 80 detective novels and short story collections, along with numerous plays and romantic novels to her credit. She has sold an estimated one billion copies of her novels in English and another billion in 103 other languages world over.

Born at Torquay in Devon on September 15, 1890, Christie spent much of her life in the seaside town and died in 1976.

Even as Britain is set to celebrate her 120th birth anniversary celebrations, this 'Wikileak' is an embarrassment for the novelist's family.

However, this kind of a fear over the leak seems to be a bit hyped because all Agatha Christie fans know the ending of the play as it is read and seen by them. If it was the mystery of the play that attracted viewers to the theatre, no one would have watched it for the second time. But a play that has been running non-stop in a theatre for over 58 years have surely attracted many viewers for many times. So the cry over the climax is equal to limiting the potential of the play. Climax is not the last word, the world knows that very well.

Posted on: 9/1/2010 at 12:58 AM
Tags: wikipedia, the mousetrap, agatha christie, climax, longest running play, matthew prichard, sir stephen waley-cohen, entertaining, detectives, hercule poirot, miss jane marple
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