Joshua Riley plays Christopher Wren in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre for his West End debut, with the play in its 74th year and the world’s longest-running play, and Joshua works with a cast including Georgina Fairbanks as Mollie Ralston and Cai Brigden as Giles Ralston, and he is directed by Ola Ince. For Joshua’s professional theatre debut, he played Marquess of Dorset in Richard III at Almeida Theatre in London with Ralph Fiennes and Vanessa Redgrave also in the cast. On screen, Joshua played William Dabney in Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color, and he played the recurring role of Prince Adolphus in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story for Netflix. In the short film Revelations, Joshua starred as Drew, and he played Freddie in the 2020 release of Summerland alongside Gemma Arterton as Alice and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Vera, and he’s worked on episodes of Sister Boniface Mysteries, Mood, Safe, Casualty and Doctors. Alongside screen and theatre, Joshua has played Paul Mack since 2022 in the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers. Answering our questions, Joshua speaks about making his West End debut as Christopher Wren in The Mousetrap, his time as Marquess of Dorset in Richard III, playing Prince Adolphus in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story and joining the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers in 2022 as Paul Mack.
How has it been returning to the stage to play Christopher Wren in The Mousetrap and joining the cast at St. Martin’s Theatre for the show’s 74th year?
Returning to the stage in The Mousetrap has been grounding in the best sense. There’s a real weight to joining a production with this level of history, but it isn’t fixed in time. Every audience reshapes the evening, and the work asks for full presence night after night. Performing at St. Martin’s Theatre sharpens your focus – to the work, to the audience, and to the tradition you’re stepping into.
Was there anything that drew you to The Mousetrap and how is it having the show as your West End debut?
What drew me to The Mousetrap was the precision of Agatha Christie’s writing. It sets up a wide field in the first act, allowing the world and characters to establish themselves, before tightening its grip in the second. As the play narrows, every line and beat begins to carry real consequence. That shift demands clarity and careful listening from the actors, keeping the work exact and alive night after night.
Having it as my West End debut felt like the right alignment – a form that rewards consistency, trust in the text, and full presence.
Without giving spoilers, how would you describe Christopher Wren and how did you prepare for taking on the role?
Christopher Wren is mercurial and watchful. He can appear light on the surface, but much of his behaviour feels like a response to something damaged underneath – an understanding shaped as much by what he doesn’t say as much as by what he does.
Rather than leaning into surface eccentricity, the work was about grounding him emotionally, so the audience senses there’s more going on beneath the wit.
How was it rehearsing for the play and being directed by Ola Ince, who has been appointed to refresh the world’s longest-running play?
Ola brings clarity and intelligence into the room. She has enormous respect for the play’s legacy, but she’s always asking how it functions in the present.
Rehearsals were grounded in behaviour, rhythm and story rather than surface invention. The process created a great deal of trust, and meant the work stayed responsive and specific. As an actor, that kind of direction is deeply steadying – you feel guided while still being invited to think.
What is Christopher like to play and how different do you find him to your previous characters?
Christopher appears light on the page, but the role demands real precision. The architecture of the play leaves very little room for casual choices. Compared to some of my screen work, where stillness can carry intention on its own, Christopher requires that stillness to be active – held within rhythm, energy and timing. It’s been a rewarding challenge to hold that balance night after night with my fellow actors.
What is it like performing in an Agatha Christie play and seeing the audience’s response to the show?
Agatha Christie’s work operates within a very specific dramatic logic. The form demands clarity, and that sharpens the work. The writing invites investigation, and a lot of the pleasure comes from uncovering what sits beneath the surface of the text.
That clarity creates a shared focus in the room. When it’s working, you can feel the audience leaning in with you, following the story beat by beat, and that collective attention sustains the atmosphere every night.
What are some of your favourite memories from playing Marquess of Dorset in Richard III for your professional theatre debut, which starred Ralph Fiennes and Vanessa Redgrave?
One of my strongest memories is watching Ralph work in rehearsals. I used to stay behind and observe. Seeing that level of preparation, and his willingness to keep questioning and refining, was formative. It taught me that truth comes from curiosity and rigour, not force.
Working alongside Vanessa Redgrave reinforced the generosity that underpins great classical work – her openness in the rehearsal room was as instructive as her authority on stage.
On screen, you portrayed William Dabney in Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color, how was it getting into character and telling the story?
Telling a real-life story brings a different kind of weight because you’re standing in for someone whose experiences were real and largely unrecorded.
I spent a lot of time building an internal world for William Dabney. The aim was to honour the life behind the story. All of it was handled beautifully by our director, Adeyemi Michael. He was willing to understand the world I had created, trust it, and provide the space it needed to live truthfully on screen.
How did you find the experience playing recurring character Prince Adolphus in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story and what was the series like to be part of?
Playing Prince Adolphus across Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story marked a decisive shift for me into recurring screen work. The time on set was concentrated, but it allowed the character to establish a clear presence within the world of Bridgerton. The scale and confidence of the production are undeniable, and you’re trusted to listen, respond truthfully, and serve the story. Being part of a series of that calibre, with that level of care and ambition, was a deeply rewarding experience.
Can you tell us about starring as Drew in the 2022 short film Revelations and filming as Freddie in the 2020 release of Summerland?
Revelations was an unusually intimate project, and David Allain’s writing comes directly from lived experience, which set the tone for the entire film.
In Summerland, I played Freddie in a single, contained scene – a visit to our ailing mother in hospital. What stayed with me was the level of responsibility that scene carried – there was nowhere to hide. Vera, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, is already present when Freddie arrives – to his clear discomfort – while Alice, played by Gemma Arterton, remains in the doorway, unable to enter what feels like a private family moment. Much of the tension lived in what was withheld rather than what was spoken. Freddie responds by closing ranks emotionally, holding that boundary through withdrawal rather than confrontation, allowing the scene’s weight to sit quietly with the audience.
How was it filming for an episode of Sister Boniface Mysteries as Bramwell Bailey, Mood as Fede, Safe as Young Craig, Casualty as Danny Doyle and Doctors as Sky Griffin?
Those projects exposed me to very different kinds of television storytelling. Sister Boniface Mysteries, Casualty, and Doctors have a clear, established tone, which teaches you how to step into a world that already knows its rules.
By contrast, Mood and Safe required closer attention to behaviour and context – my scene in Safe, for instance, took place in a burning building. That requires an added level of attention on set – safety. Taken together, those experiences helped me become more adaptable and confident on set, reinforcing the importance of listening, timing, clarity and adaptability.
Since 2022, you have been heard as Paul Mack in the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers, what do you enjoy most about working on the radio soap opera?
What I enjoy most is the unusual level of attention the work demands. Without visuals, every choice is carried through voice and listening. The work asks for precision, but there’s also a sense of play within that discipline. You’re contributing to something alive and ongoing, where small choices matter and character is allowed to grow patiently over time.
Can you tell us about Paul and how it has been developing the character over the years?
Paul’s development has involved some clear, defining moments, but what’s made them land is the steady groundwork underneath them. The character has been built through smaller choices and ongoing relationships over the course of his time on the programme, so when something carries weight, it’s earned. That process has allowed Paul to feel open and present, while still holding depth when it matters – which has been especially rewarding to play.
How did you get into acting and was it always something you wanted to do professionally?
I first encountered acting as a child through school plays and after-school youth groups in North London, including organisations like Kori Arts and the YMCA. Those early experiences sparked my interest, but it was later – through free institutions and on-the job learning – that commitment really took shape.
The BRIT School and the National Youth Theatre were crucial in that process. They offered rigorous, supportive environments where the emphasis was on curiosity, discipline, and generosity, and where access mattered as much as talent.
Learning in those settings, and then continuing to learn through the work itself, clarified acting as something I wanted to pursue professionally, and that commitment has only deepened over time.
What are some of your favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch?
I’m drawn to storytelling that balances imagination with emotional truth. I love Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away – films that are richly imaginative in tone but grounded in very real emotional stakes.
I’m drawn to that same inward focus in live-action work too. Television like Devs, created by Alex Garland, stayed with me for its controlled, oppressive tone, unfolding episode by episode with a sense of inevitability that feels psychologically inescapable. Its finite structure as a mini-series gives the storytelling real emotional weight.
One theatre experience that has stayed with me is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, which I saw in 2017 at the Harold Pinter Theatre, directed by James Macdonald, with Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill. The danger of it lingered long after the curtain call – the precision of the language, the speed of thought, and the sense that anything could tip at any moment. It was thrilling and unsettling in equal measure, and a reminder of how much tension can live in what’s spoken and what’s withheld.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I spend a lot of my free time cycling, especially along the canal in the warmer months. It clears my head and helps reset my focus.
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