MARION SAUVEBOIS meets the actor taking on the role of the elusive Sgt Trotter for a timeless play

SHARING the bill with the man who decades ago trod the boards in the very same role would likely reduce the most seasoned of actors to a bumbling mess, watching over his shoulder for tuts, muffled corrections, furrowed brows or vigorous head shaking from his predecessor.

But not Lewis Collier.

After all, with a roster of 400 thesps stepping in to revive Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap since 1952, bumping into - and even occasionally playing opposite former cast - doesn't just go with the territory in the select world of show business, it's virtually ineluctable.

"The fact that Tony [Boncza] played Sergeant Trotter before me is a very special thing," he says warmly. "He is really supportive and I could ask him anything if I wanted to. Invariably, whatever role you play, someone else will have played it before and it's even more likely with a play like The Mousetrap. The building blocks come from elsewhere; from the decisions you make with the director. It's never imitation. It’s about what it means to you and what works and what doesn't for you.”

With more than 26,000 performances (at last count) over the past 64 years, it is hard to believe the young actor was a Mousetrap virgin when he joined the tour as the elusive detective.

How he managed to evade the swathes of am dram productions staking claim to community centres each year, West End runs or national tours of the gripping murder mystery, is the greatest enigma of all, he admits. Coming to the classic untainted by his forebears' interpretation of the tangled plot gave him a fresh perspective.

"Studying drama in London you hear of The Mousetrap, of course, but I hadn't seen it,” he adds sheepishly. “I genuinely quite like not knowing too much about a play before you start rehearsing. This way it makes it yours. It's our version now."

The scene is set when a motley crew gathered in a country house cut off by the snow realise, to their horror, that there is a murderer in their midst. One by one the suspicious characters reveal their past secrets until at the last, nerve-shredding moment the ruthless assassin and the motive are finally exposed.

Any hopes of wangling any juicy spoilers are promptly crushed by Lewis. He is bound to secrecy.

Soon he caves though, launching into a suitably redacted praise of wordsmith Christie, her serpentine storyline (inspired by true events) and the challenges of portraying the inscrutable and duplicitous sleuth.

"It's a wonderful part to play as an actor," gushes the 27-year-old. "You've got such a strong overriding intention that has to be hidden. It's written so cleverly. He looks like a determined copper desperate for answers but he is desperate for answers for completely different reasons than the audience thinks. He's there hiding in plain sight."

Lewis has some way yet to catch up with the likes of Tony, who is steadily ticking off every male part in the show and currently tackling his third character - Major Metcalf - in this new production. That being said, he has, he confesses, dipped into other parts, female included, in the privacy - and safety- of his own home.

"Before rehearsals I recorded myself on the phone reading other people's lines so I would effectively walk around my flat talking to myself, and be everyone at once."

The Mousetrap runs at the Wyvern from Monday, September 19 to Saturday 24. To book visit swindontheatres.co.uk or call 01793 524481.