Heightened senses, a world of darkness and a band of conniving criminals all make up the fabric of the 1960's thriller WAIT UNTIL DARK. The Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake is presenting Frederick Knott's suspenseful drama in a new adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher that slowly builds to a nail-biting climax sure to intrigue audiences.
The successful 1966 Broadway production starred a young Lee Remick and then a 1967 film gave the leading role to Audrey Hepburn. Hatcher has shortened and tightened the story and our leading lady is no longer a helpless damsel in distress, but a strong and ingenious woman. The time is 1944 ( a great time for gangsters and con men) rather than the original version in 1966.
A pantomime murder takes place in a prologue when the audience has no clue as to what the circumstances are. A woman is strangled, and two con men, Roat and Carlino, are on the scene looking for a toy doll that had been traced to this address. The woman had asked an innocent bystander, Sam, to carry it across the Canadian border for her. When the woman tries to retrieve it from Sam's New York City apartment, she meets one of the con men who kills her when she can't produce it. Roat and Carlino make it their job to find that doll, filled with diamonds.
Sam's wife Susan, a blind woman, soon arrives, having no idea what has occurred. The men fashion a story and leave the apartment. Sam makes a brief appearance but soon leaves for an out of town job. Just then Mike, a long lost war buddy of Sam's, mysteriously shows up and squirms his way into Susan's flat, regaling her with stories of his adventures with Sam in the Navy.
And that is Act 1. The long exposition is needed but the vagueries of the story leave the playgoer a bit perplexed as the what it all means. Fear not, Act 2 promises a resolution that neatly answers the questions to all of the unknowns.
Director Sanjay Talwar guides the cast with a nod to the film noir style, playing with the literal sense of darkness that comes from being blind and the darkness of the subject matter. Susan's capacity for observation using every sense but sight becomes palpable as she deduces the details of the evil plan that is surrounding her. There are clues and red herrings along the way that add to the excitement.
Sochi Fried gives a simmering portrayal as Susan that builds to an explosive boiling point. Susan is no fading wallflower and Fried is in total control, aware of her surroundings at all times and convincing in her determination to overcome the dire predicament she is in. When she pairs with her nosey teenage neighbor Gloria, the two females sizzle with excitement. Eponine Lee slithers and leaps around the set as the precocious Gloria, and charms the audience with her ability to aid Susan.
Kristopher Bowman is the handsome GI Mike, who at first seems like the good guy that charms Susan and gains her trust. But his true colors emerge, taking total advantage of Susan's blindness, fabricating stories at every turn. He's the third con man in on the plot to find the doll and his lies slowly convince Susan that danger is lurking in her own apartment. Bowman's suave portrayal oozes control until Susan turns the tables on him and the drama heightens at every turn.
Bruce Horak is Roat, the ringleader whose desperation to find the doll drives the action. His game of cat and mouse with Susan is where Knott's story truly shines. How can a blind woman possibly compete with a sighted man-- The answer is by having it all play out on a level Playing Field-- in complete darkness! Horak is wonderful as this villain, hated from the outset and evil to the core. He would murder his own mother to find that doll.
Martin Happer as Carlino does a fine job as Roat's "second," but even con men run into snags and these two can't find the goods. Meanwhile JJ Gerber gives an appropriately condescending spin on his portrayal of Sam, the husband who seems to merely pander to his blind wife and her infirmity. The tidy ending is a triumph for Susan and all women, leaving her with the final word.
Set design by Lorenzo Savoini is evocative and detailed in its shabbiness, allowing the fine lighting design by Louise Guinand to guide the action. Two large windows give a perfect street view, while the Venetian blinds serve as signals for the con men to communicate when one is outside of the apartment . Subtle changes in light, darkness, and everything in between are imperative to tell this story and the effects are masterfully executed. Original sound design by John Gzowski assures a mood of tension, when needed.
The fine cast, swift pacing and clever deductions given to the character of Susan made for an intriguing and suspenseful journey that satisfied all of the senses.
WAIT UNTIL DARK plays at the Festival Theatre of the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario through October 5, 2025. Contact shawfest.com for more information.
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