Karl Howman had never even seen The Mousetrap, but now he is all wrapped up in the mystery of the Agatha Christie classic, as he tells CHARLES HUTCHINSON

KARL Howman was born the year that The Mousetrap opened its 60-year run in London’s West End but he has never seen Agatha Christie’s murder mystery.

“Well, I say I’ve never seen it, but my mother saw it when carrying me, so maybe I did see it,” says the Woolwich stage, radio and screen actor, theatre director and voice-over artist, who is now starring in the diamond anniversary tour of Christie’s celebrated thriller.

He can be seen at the Grand Opera House in York from Monday in the role of the mysterious, dapper and dangerous Mr Paravidini in The Mousetrap’s first British tour.

“As I’d never done the play and I ain’t seen it either, I had no preconceived ideas when I took the part. For good or bad, I like to find the character myself and, as with all Agatha Christie mysteries, it’s open to interpretation as there are so many lies being told, so you never know what the truth is,” says Karl.

“That’s why you have to make your own decision as to what’s a lie and what isn’t.”

What does Karl think of the somewhat strange Mr Paravidini, the man with no first name? “I can’t say what I think of him,” he says, keeping his cards close to his chest as he prepared for a matinee performance during The Mousetrap’s run at Leeds Grand Theatre in March.

“You must let people decide for themselves if he is spinning a lie from the start. Well, all of them could be. That’s the point. Who is telling the truth?”

Best remembered for his long-running role as Jacko in the Eighties and Nineties’ BBC sitcom Brush Strokes, Karl puts his finger on the even longer-running popularity of The Mousetrap and the rush to snap up tickets for its inaugural tour.

“You know the answer to that! It’s the Christie brand, and that brand is worldwide. If you keep something exclusive to the West End for so long and don’t allow it out anywhere, then its exclusivity will mean that people will want to see the Christie brand when it finally comes out on tour,” he says.

“We’re playing to full houses and we’re adding matinees, but I wouldn’t want in any way to suggest that has anything to do with who’s in the cast. I wouldn’t flatter myself by saying that.”

Karl, who is joined in The Mousetrap company by the likes of Graham Seed, Jemma Walker, Bruno Langley and Elizabeth Power, believes that nostalgia is another factor in the play’s abiding appal.

“It’s the memories of times before mobile phones because to update Christie to today would make it impossible to stage the play now. You would only have to Google Mr Paravidini’s name to check out who he is, just as it wouldn’t be enough to cut off the house phones in this age of the mobile phone. Now you could find ways to raise help, so you’re very much watching a nostalgic piece of theatre – and when you see such nostalgia, it takes you out of yourself.

“It’s the familiar thrill that people like; they know what they’re going to get and they’re comforted by what they’re going to get. In Christie’s pieces, it’s all about solving the crime, and not the gruesomeness of the crime, which is why it’s not like Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

“Agatha Christie’s thrillers don’t revolve around blood and gore but the machinations of what’s going on.”

Karl, who turned 60 last December, has enjoyed a diverse acting and directing career, from appearing in his debut film That’ll Be The Day in 1972 and its sequel Stardust, through his television roles in Brush Strokes and Mulberry, to directing stage productions in Britain, Australia, India and the Far East and co-writing and co-directing his debut feature film, Fathers Of Girls, in 2010.

Now he is delighted to be adding The Mousetrap to his acting experiences.

“The joy of doing this show is that you’re doing an iconic piece, which it definitely is, so you’re part of history, and in my 43rd year in this profession, 70 per cent of the theatres that we’re playing I’m seeing for the first time – and to play them is a great experience.

“I’m really enjoying being in these beautiful, Frank Matcham-designed theatres, and it’s a nice way to spend my 60th birthday year, so that’s a plus for me. It’s all been pretty simpatico since we started the tour last year.”

From Monday, Karl will be performing on a York stage for the first time in his long career. “But I have been to York Races, which I love,” he says.

• Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap Diamond Anniversary Tour visits Grand Opera House, York, from Monday to Saturday; performances at 7.30pm plus 2.30pm matinees, Wednesday and Saturday. Box office: 0844 871 5024 or atg.tickets.com/york