Wait Until Dark

Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich

Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 23 August 2008

Wait Until Dark

All the best suspense thrillers play out in the darkness both of the area around you and in your mind. This masterfully crafted thriller is an electrifying example.

Centred round a mysterious doll (which is hidimg some heroin) it features a sinister conman, two ex-convicts, a rather naive man and his blind wife.

Murders and a deadly cat-and-mouse game build to a terrific climax.

That is the plot and it demands strong acting and powerful direction.

The Maddermarket do just that; the brilliantly intriguing plot and realistic characters develop with compelling tension.

Richard Mann sustains Kray-like menace and his two side-kicks, Russell Turner and Max Rudd, play it with just the right amount of conman plausibility.

Jo Sessions as the blind woman is outstanding, balancing our natural sympathy at her situation with always knowing more than she lets on.

Megan Bond as a 12-year old girl is delightfully spooky.

Rhett Davies directs, making excellent use of the cramped stage and dim lighting in a basement to build the claustrophobia.

Acknowledging the Hitchcock influence, the whole hangs on superb timing, a variety of threats and terrors and in the end a satisfying sense of sheer horror.

The finale performed in absolute blackness is one of the most effective stage thrills in a long time. You will not want to miss it