Wheathampstead Magazine
Local Drama Group
Perform ‘Wait until Dark’
The audience of a packed Marford Hall were enthralled as the cast took us through the thriller Wait Until Dark over 2 acts.
Set in a basement flat in 1960’s London, this psychological drama, directed by Sally Davis, followed the story of blind housewife Susy, who becomes the target of three con-men searching for a quantity of heroin hidden in a doll, which her husband Sam unwittingly brought home from a business trip as a favour to a woman who has since been murdered. Tip-toeing around someone else’s house in the dark, two of the villains discover a dead body and when the killer, the ruthless Roat (Jonathan Field) arrives, a complicated three way con is set in motion in an attempt to recover the doll and its contents.
The villains make their move as Sam leaves for business, attempting to con the vulnerable Susy, and a life threatening game begins. Soon, however, Susy begins to realise that the smooth and friendly Mike (Robert Naylor – Stables) and Croker (Peter Jeffreys) are not quite what they seem, and her confidence and cunning grows. Played by Georgina Lilley, in the end Susy emerges from her ordeal a lot better off than the men attempting to con her!
The con is quite complex and so needed a fair bit of explanation to make sense and so there were a few long speeches by the various characters to establish just what was happening in the first half. But the action picks up after the interval, helped on by the reluctant home help Gloria (Emma Rouse) who is delighted to be involved in the drama of real crime, and gets a few laughs as all comes good in the end.
The next performance planned for Wheathampstead Dramatic Society is Love From a stranger written by Agatha Christie and FrankVosper.
The company have already had auditions for the 8 strong cast and Robin Langer will direct . The first performance of this interesting play with the usual Agatha Christie twists throughout is scheduled for 20th February 2020 and will run until 22nd February.