A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

I'll Be Back Before Midnight

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  2w, 2m

Peter Colley

In this spine-tingling comedic thriller, a young husband and wife encounter a spate of frightening events in an old country farmhouse. Peter Colley’s tremendously successful suspense play is filled with witty dialogue, huge laughs and heart-thumping scares.

I'll Be Back Before Midnight

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary

Jan is a young wife recovering from a nervous disorder. She and her husband Greg rent a remote cabin from an odd farmer who delights in telling gruesome ghost stories. Then Greg’s strange sister Laura arrives, and all manner of frightening events occur. What happens to fragile Jan as bodies appear and disappear gives this classic thriller its tremendously frightening impact. The most successful play ever staged in Canada, I’ll Be Back Before Midnight has been performed in over 31 countries and was adapted into a major motion picture.

History
I’ll Be Back Before Midnight premiered at the The Blyth Festival Theatre on July 3, 1979. Directed by Keith Batten, the production featured Peter Snell, Angi Gei, Peter Elliott and Kate Trotter.
Keywords
Performing Groups
JAN SANDERSON – Late 20s. Recovering from a nervous disorder.
GREG SANDERSON – Early 30s. His manner and dress are those of a rather stuffy intellectual.
GEORGE WILLOWBY – 50s. An enormous, ruddy-faced farmer.
LAURA SANDERSON – 30s. A sophisticated businesswoman.
  • Time Period Present Day
  • Setting A large old farmhouse in the country. The present or recent past.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes

Media

“More spine-tingling than Deathtrap. My ears still ring from the screams of the girls behind me.” – The Toronto Sun

“A first-rate thriller.” – London Free Press

“Peter Colley’s roller-coaster play contains the kind of stomach-dropping twists that will make you hoot with laughter even as you clutch your theater companion’s sleeve.There's something scratching at the window behind those dusty draperies, and finding out what horror lurks is all part of this entertaining production’s fun.’ – Los Angeles Times

“No amount of praise seems excessive... you’ll either be shivering in your seat or rolling out of it with laughter.” – New York Theatre Voice

“This suspense-filled play is likely to be the season’s most entertaining production.” – London Gazette

“Wonderfully spooky... somewhere between an Agatha Christie mystery and a Hitchcock thriller. Peter Colley sends up the haunted house bit with witty dialogue and at the next moment interrupts the audience’s laughter with a good, heart-thumping scare... a really good ghost story.” – Toronto Globe and Mail

“Leave a lot of lights on at home after you see this play.” – CBS Radio

Videos

  • I’ll Be Back Before Midnight – Scene on 7 youtube thumbnail

    I’ll Be Back Before Midnight – Scene on 7

  • I’ll Be Back Before Midnight – St. Jacob Country Playhouse Trailer youtube thumbnail

    I’ll Be Back Before Midnight – St. Jacob Country Playhouse Trailer

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance
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Authors

Peter Colley

Peter Colley
Peter Colley is a British-Canadian-American playwright and lyricist. His plays and musicals have been seen in 32 countries and 48 of the 50 states in the US, and have been translated into 12 languages. Two of Colley's plays have been made into feature films (The Mark of Cain ...
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