About the Play:

Night Watch is a full-length thriller by Lucille Fletcher. Reminiscent of film noir favourites, this stylish mystery is a psychological thrill ride. During a sleepless night, a troubled woman gazes out the window of her Manhattan townhouse and sees a dead man in the building across the way… or does she? With twists and turns and ulterior motives galore, Night Watch leads audiences to wonder: "If no one believes you, did it really happen?"

Night Watch unfolds in a plush East Side townhouse in Manhattan. Unable to sleep, Elaine Wheeler, who once suffered a nervous breakdown following the death of her first husband, paces the living room troubled by unsettling memories and vague fears. Her successful husband of several years, John, tries to comfort her, but when he steps away for a moment Elaine screams as she sees (or believes she sees) the body of a dead man in the window across the way. The police are called, but find nothing except an empty chair. Elaine's terror grows as shortly thereafter she sees still another body – this time a woman's – but by now the police are skeptical and pay no heed to her frantic pleas. Has she really seen these dead people across the way, or is she confused? If Elaine saw bodies, what happened to them? Her husband, claiming that Elaine may be on the verge of a breakdown, calls in a lady psychiatrist, who agrees with his suggestion that Elaine should commit herself to a sanitarium for treatment. From this point on, the plot moves quickly and grippingly as those involved – Elaine's old friend and house guest Blanche; the inquisitive and rather sinister man who lives next door; and the nosy Wheeler family maid Helga – all contribute to the deepening suspense and mystery. In true Hitchcockian style, Night Watch reveals its truths slowly, with twists and turns at every crossroad until the final, breath-stopping moment of its riveting and chilling climax.

Night Watch premiered in 1972 at the Morosco Theater on Broadway in New York City and was turned into a film with Elizabeth Taylor in the lead role. The play has become a popular choice for school and community theatre groups who are attracted by Lucille Fletcher's fine characters and lively writing.

Cast: 4 female, 5 male

What people say:

"A most superior thriller … which from its first blood-curdling scream to its last charming surprise is a first-class example of its genre." — New York Times

"…Miss Fletcher knows exactly what she is doing, goes about her business with gratifying swiftness and comes up with a finish worthy of one of Roald Dahl's little nifties." — New York Daily News

"The call for a good American mystery melodrama was answered last night…fulfills all the requirements for an evening of satisfying menace and mystification." — New York Post

"For those who love a good tale of suspense that will keep you guessing until the end, be sure to see Night Watch." — Broadway World

About the Playwright:

Lucille Fletcher (1912-2000) was an American screenwriter of film, radio and television best known for her scripts from the heyday of radio drama. Her path to professional writing began when she took a job at CBS, then the largest broadcasting company in America, as a typist, and became convinced that she could write better scripts than those she was copy-typing. She proceeded to write one of the enduring classics of American radio, The Hitch-Hiker, written for Orson Welles and adapted for a notable episode of The Twilight Zone television series. She also wrote the legendary one-act Sorry, Wrong Number, one of radio's most famous plays, which she adapted and expanded for the 1948 film noir classic of the same name.