Nailbiters beware. I lost two of mine during the opening night of I'll Be Back Before Midnight, the latest production from Driftwood Players. The psychological thriller takes you to the edge of your seat and back. Written by Canadian Peter Colley, it is allegedly our country's most popular play, according to the Globe and Mail, that likens it to the hit thriller Wait Until Dark. The two are similar, with a touch of Psycho thrown in. A couple rents a haunted and shabby farmhouse (designed in incredibly ugly and authentic 1970s style by Mary Caple) while the wife recovers from a nervous breakdown. Her rock-hunting husband, who has as much sensitivity to her needs as the average slab of granite, invites his extrovert sister to spend this second honeymoon with them. Rather than calm the twittery wife, the two manage to scare her further into believing local legends of a ghost that stalks young women. The most interesting character and the only comic relief (other than some opening night missed cues) is handled by a whisky-swilling farmer, George. The premise works well on this small cast under the direction of Dave Hurtubise. The wife, Jan, played by Melina Cassidy in her Sunshine Coast début, holds the lion's share of the tension in her trembling fingers. She also holds the smoking gun. For the most part, she rises to this challenge, except that her soft voice is occasionally difficult to hear. Todd Alain, as the husband, is handsome and frustratingly impervious, while his sister, played by Elisa Marie Jardine, shows terrific and colourful stage presence. Ian Backs, as the farmer, is funny and grotesque. The action is moved along quickly through the use of special lighting, frenetic music and sound effects. Although some of the sound effects are clichéd, such as the wildly thumping heartbeat that sounds before midnight, they are still very effective in scaring our socks off. Before the finale, blood and gore will gush, explosions will shake the house, and gunshot will ring. But I can't reveal the ending. Suffice it to say that someone must die. I'll be Back Before Midnight continues this weekend, March 11 to 12, and March 17 to 19 at the Heritage Playhouse at 8 p.m. Tickets for $12 are available at Hallmark Cards, Coast Books and Talewind Books.
