Louise Jameson: Why I took on tour of The Mousetrap

With the age of 65 years fast approaching , most people would be thinking about their retirement.
Louise Jameson in The MousetrapLouise Jameson in The Mousetrap
Louise Jameson in The Mousetrap

Not so the actress Louise Jameson who is on a major tour of Agatha Christie’s thriller The Mousetrap.

She said: “I thought about doing something special for my 65th birthday in 2016.

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“Just how did I get to be 65? The same way The Mousetrap has run for nearly that length of time I suppose, just second by second time has ticked away. We’ve both lasted this long, and so we’ll be celebrating together.

“I have never done just one role for eight months before and I approach that with a bit of trepidation, but Agatha Christie is so well loved and has such a following, playing to packed house around the country in my 45th year of acting has its appeal.”

Louise plays Mrs Boyle in the drama which comes to Chesterfield’s Winding Wheel next month. She said: “Mrs Boyle is the traditional grumpy old woman. She is impatient, lonely and on her uppers. She harbours a secret and the challenge as an actress is to go for the vulnerability, so the audience understands her, often comedic, reaction to her circumstance.”

This is the first production of The Mousetrap which Louise has tackled but she is no stranger to the queen of crime writer’s works. “I was in the Pale Horse for BBC several years ago; I got bumped off quite early. And I played Miss Marple in A Murder Is Announced tour two years ago.

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“I am a fan of watching Agatha Christie rather than reading. I find the actor’s layer of interpretation invaluable with whodunits.”

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Louise is best remembered for her role as Leela in Doctor Who in the 70s. She said: “ I love the programme and am thrilled that I was once part of it. I still watch it.

“There is a much bigger budget, the CGI make the effects much more scary and the assistant gets a better crack of the whip. I think Peter (Capaldi) is a fantastic doctor. On the whole, I think the programme still ticks the same boxes it did way back in 1963, unique, inclusive, daring.”

l The Mousetrap hits Chesterfield from March 7-12. Call 01246 345222 or visit www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk