Newspaper review: The Harrogate Advertiser

Darkness proves no handicap for thrilling production

It's drama all the way as Harrogate Dramatic Society brings it's latest production - Wait Until Dark, a thriller first performed 30 years ago - to the the local stage.
The set is extremely authentic. The play takes place in a basement flat in Notting Hill Gate. Every minute detail has been carefully considered, from the carpeting on the stairs, right down to cereal boxes on the shelves, and a real washing machine.
The heroine is Susy Henderson, played by Rachel Green. Susy is a young woman, tragically blinded in a road accident.
Rachel's acting is awesomely powerful - she is totally convincing as a blind woman. It's more than obvious that she has "thrown herself into the part"
The audience is made totally aware of her vulnerability and tries to refrain from pitying her - not very easy to do as Susy is clearly a strong character, and because the stage scene is so authentic, the audience is able to appreciate the obstacles that a blind person has to face, even in her own home.
Stuart Kellett plays Sam, Susy's husband, a photographer. Stuarts acting is confident and Sam comes across as a caring but not over-sensitive husband. But Sam, through an act of kindness, and totally oblivious of the consequences of his actions, has managed to get his wife embroiled in a plot with three criminals who take on new guises to try and reclaim a lost doll filled with drugs.
Chris Reilly and Michael Crewe play Mike and Croker, a rather motley pair of ex-conmen. Their acting is impeccable although perhaps their characters are not serious enough?
It is quite difficult to believe they are hardened criminals, which I think was the idea. Or perhaps Susy's vulnerability gets to them as well?
Alan Harwood is excellent as the quasi-psychotic Roat, the leader of the gang.
Young Lucy Pattison comes across perfectly as Gloria, the loathsome precocious teenager who in the end, proves an invaluable aid to Susy. What I think is most poignant about the play is the ending, which appears to reflect the title.
Susy, who lives in a world of darkness, either conciously or subconciously, inflicts her handicap on Roat. She turns off the lights. The use of lighting is most effective at this point - the audience is convinced of his difficulties groping around in the dark. But this is something Susy has to deal with every minute of her life. Such an inanimate commodity such as the fridge ingeniously, yet subtly plays a significant part in the play.
The whole way through, trivial references are made to it, but as audiences will see for themselves, it turns out to play a major role.
Wait Until Dark is certainly another H.D.S. production well worth seeing, not least for Rachel Green's brilliance.