For the press night of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bristol Old Vic, a national newspaper sent a critic who admitted in his subsequent review that he didn’t like puppets. Quite a challenge then to review a play favourably when puppets play such an integral part.

Well, this reviewer dislikes whodunnits and recently contemplated turning down an invitation to a murder mystery party. But despite reservations, I still found myself swept along by the slow burning intrigue of Agatha Christie’s The Moustrap.

This is the sixtieth anniversary of The Mousetrap, but its first national tour. And in all that time, the identity of the killer has not been revealed to anybody other than those in the theatre audience.

What those facts reveal is the enduring popularity of this production, which is decidedly old-fashioned, hammy, even clunky.

But it is also one which keeps its hands masterly close to its chest with the final revelations surely coming as a complete surprise to everybody but the keenest amateur sleuth.

There are not many nuances in The Mousetrap, first performed in 1952 with a young Richard Attenborough among the cast, which here in Bristol includes one-time Coronation Street regular Bruno Langley among its number, as well as Elizabeth Power as the unfortunate Mrs Boyle who in this day and age would surely take to TripAdvisor to complain about the snowed-in guest house where the action is set – all in one room.

The Mousetrap is more Midsummer Murders than The Wire or The Killing. However, it is enjoyable fare and a pleasant surprise to see a straight play at the Bristol Hippodrome which has in recent years has seen virtually back-to-back musicals.

The Mousetrap is at the Bristol Hippodrome until May 4. For more information, visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-mousetrap/bristol-hippodrome.