Wait Until Dark

by Frederick Knott

Susy Hendrix, a blind Greenwich Village housewife, is terrorized by a trio of men looking for heroin they believe her husband has hidden in a doll.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Classics

89 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Knott was the son of English missionaries who sent him to be educated in England. A graduate of Cambridge, his promising tennis career was cut short by WWII. He served in the British Army Artillery as a signals instructor. He eventually moved to New York, and found success with three stories he wrote for the British and American stage.

Reviews

[Breena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wait Until Dark is a play telling the story of Susy Hendrix, a blind woman, and three crooks who are trying to steal a doll from her. But how successful they are, you’ll never know until dark.

I honestly love this play! I’ve seen it many times over and I was just doing a quick read through to prep for my show this summer. The plot is filled with eery twists and genius observations. I can’t wait to put it on!

[P.S. Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing psychological thriller when a blind woman finds herself caught up in suspense, mystery and danger,

[Petra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stage directions were wonderful. I don't usually like too many interspersed amongst the dialogue of a play but I found that this play needed them to give us the feeling of the motion happening on stage. To read this play without that feeling of motion would have made it flat and uninteresting.
Well, this is another reminder never to receive an item from a stranger at an airport and transport it for them. Only trouble can come from aiding someone in this way. :D
Well written and very entertaining. I would enjoy seeing this on stage.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best plays I have ever read. It is so intense, and I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend reading it.

[Carrie Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never seen the movie or the play but I really enjoyed reading this! It’s one badass thriller

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of the 1967 film adaptation with Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin, so I wanted to check out the original play to see how the two compare. I will say, I think the film has better dialogue and tighter storytelling (it plugs up a few holes in the story too), but the play is still very enjoyable and one I would enjoy seeing performed someday. It's considered a classic for a reason.

While DIAL M FOR MURDER is more famous and regarded among Frederick Knott's two Broadway hit plays, I actually prefer WAIT UNTIL DARK, if only because the characters are more interesting across the board (my biggest issue with DIAL is that Tony is so much more vivid a figure than the people he's trying to kill, trick, and steal from that anytime he isn't on-stage (the famous scissors scene aside), things sag) and the heroine actually gets to be active against the men trying to con and then kill her.

The suspense is perfectly executed, utilizing the single setting to its full advantage and ramping up the tension between Susy and her tormenters in the most delicious slow-burn fashion. And as many others have pointed out, that last confrontation in the dark kitchen is one of the best climaxes in all of fiction. I am not even exaggerating. I think it's that brilliant. Both the heroine and the villain are equally cunning, intelligent, and resourceful, making their cat-and-mouse game very satisfying-- much like this ingenious little thriller on the whole.

PS Rereading this again, I have to say I still prefer the original to the Hatcher rewrite. There's something about the 1960s setting (as compared to the WWII one) that I really like.

[Marilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've seen this performed on stage (shout out to Uncle Brad, who was awesome!) and seen the Audrey Hepburn movie, and I felt it was time to read the play. I was not disappointed! I knew exactly what was going to happen, and yet I was still on the edge of my seat. This has to be one of the scariest, most heat-racing plays of all time. It is unique in that the main character is blind, and it changes the lighting for a lot of the play. Now I need to rewatch the movie!

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was involved in a high school production, and have seen the film with Audrey Hepburn, and I love it all. Because what woman doesn't see herself as being the beautiful and clever best-blind-woman-ever?

[Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this play and love the 1967 film version starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. Knott's writing is suspenseful and thrilling. Quite perfect for fall and Halloween season.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very claustrophobic and effective piece of theater. I would enjoy seeing this performed live sometime.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting, and intensely thrilling game of both verbal and physical manipulation. Wait Until Dark builds slowly and ends with a superbly crafted and enthralling finish.

[Wt Prater · Rating 5 out of 5]

An effective use of light and dark on stage. The set seems fully utilized. And the characters are Very well crafted.

[Misti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three con men try to retrieve a doll stuffed with heroin from the apartment of a photographer and his blind wife.

Well-written and suspenseful, though slightly dated.

[Leo Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the film! There's something upbeat about the film, whereas the darkness of the play is positively draining. I feel like I went through Susy's ordeal just reading it.

So detailed. Indicative of the kind of thing I don't like about a lot of crime fiction, which is the needless complexity of it. But I forgive it in this case and actually finally see the point of it, that the bewildering nature of sinister plots minimises the chance of the protagonist ever piecing it together. It can be essential to the mood.

Imagine watching Lee Remick do this on Broadway in the 60s! Wish I could have been there. Would love to see this done properly on stage one day <3

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I like this play. It builds tension well in Act 2, but feels like it resolves far too quickly. Act 1 is lacking. It's far too much exposition and not enough build which is probably why Act 2 feels like it rushes to the finish line. I do like the revelation of Mike's involvement being the end of Act 1, but then his monologuing and giving away the plan in Act 2 lessens the vibe. I'd love to try my hand at staging this show, though.

[Ati Yeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main idea was amazing i loved the story but i personally think the whole play should have begun from act one scene 2 like why spoil an amazing thriller like that from the beginning?
The first part could be put in the end to explain everything later? Or even in the last scene roat could explain everything to susy to clear things up. That really makes alot more sense.

[A.B. Neilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cunning story about three thieves and a blind woman and what they do to deceive each other. Susy has to overcome jer fear of not being able to take care of herself and use her blindness as a strength instead of a curse.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Frederick Knott takes your expectations and turns them around on you. This is a very excited story with some dark edges and interesting turns. The set requirements are insane, so it would take some doing to get it right on stage.

We discussed Frederick Knot's work on a special episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/of...

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t remember when I last read a play. Probably in school. This was a quick read after I went to see the play recently (and yes, I also saw the film years ago). It was fun to see how it came to life. Unique thriller and a good female heroine considering when this became popular.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technically a reread as my mother and I were both involved in an am-dram production in my youth. I also enjoyed the Audrey Hepburn movie, which my sister in law bought me for my birthday this year. I remembered quite a bit of the plot, and enjoyed being reminded of the rest.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was cast as Mike on December 9, 2023 and had our read through the following Wednesday on December 13, 2023. I was so thrilled to be cast in this production and I am most excited to begin work on it. This production will be with the Peninsula Players in Grimsby, Ontario.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten that Wait Until Dark was originally a play before being made into a movie. It’s been a while since I’ve watched the film, but from what I remember, it seems to have followed the original text well. I think it would be great to see this live someday.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Love the film version with Audrey Hepburn.)

[Karlen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came into the play fondly remembering the movie. It's a little hard to follow along as a script so I'm glad I was familiar with it. I'd love to see it as a play.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story. Plenty of tension here and surprising to have 2 females (particularly a girl and a blind woman) be the characters to foil the bad guys.

[m · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE MYSTERY!! THE SUSPENSE!! THE CLEVERNESS!! Loved it!!

[Andrea Stoddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the movie. Loved the play.

[David Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soooo much contrivance and convolution. But there is a lot of real potential for character dynamics underneath, and the final sequence is amazing.

[Josh Reuss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great modulation of tension and the final confrontation is thrilling. A few plot holes kept this from being truly great, though.

[reese ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i quite liked this play. susan is who i would wanna be if i went blind