Screams of terror and burst out loud laughter don’t often go together in a performance, but they are the prefect match for audiences of Surrey Little Theatre’s upcoming production of I’ll Be Back Before Midnight.

Performed and acclaimed around the world, the play is the work of Peter Colley and features enough edge-of-your-seat moments to keep audience members guessing. 

Life-long Langley resident, Holly Zonneveld plays Laura, a beautiful, yet manipulative sister to Greg, an archeologist, who has rented a farmhouse to give his wife [Jan] a quiet place to recuperate from her nervous breakdown. Things are far from quiet however, when Jan learns of a murder that occurred in the house years before and Laura comes to visit and stirs things up. 

“She’s a fascinating character,” said Zonneveld of Laura. “And when I read the script, she was the only character I was interested in playing.”

Zonneveld has been away from the stage for a while waiting for the right timing to create balance between theatre, family, and work. 

She always wanted to get back into theatre and when the timing was right, she made the leap. 

“I haven’t auditioned for anything in probably 10 years,” she noted.

Having performed in high school drama productions and local church performances in the past, this is Zonneveld’s first foray into community theatre. 

“I was thinking I was going to be very happily sweeping floors,” she said. “I wanted to get involved in anyway I could. I was very, very excited to be cast.”

“They are very excited,” she said of her family. “It’s a really big commitment.”

Another large undertaking for Zonneveld was continuing to learn her craft, something she has been advancing thanks to the other actors and those behind the scenes of the performance. 

“All of them have a lot of stage experience, so I’m learning a lot from them,” she noted. “It’s been fantastic working with people with so much experience. The director, Rita [Price], and stage managers have just been amazing to work with too. They’re so talented.”

As things progress towards opening night, there is some teasing about Zonneveld’s character.

“They [the other cast members] obviously tease me a lot about my character,” she said. “She’s a little conniving and a little underhanded.”

When asked how she feels about the approach of opening night on Thursday evening, Zonneveld noted, “I am mostly excited. Of course there’s some butterflies for sure. The butterflies are mine. My character would not have butterflies.”

Contact the Surrey Little Theatre for tickets – which are $15 a seat – for I’ll Be Back Before Midnight, running Thursdays through Saturdays, Jan. 29 to Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. and Sundays, Feb. 8 and 15 at 2 p.m.

Next show

Those interested in taking part in the next production by the Surrey Little Theatre, Truth and Reconciliation, by Etan Frankel, can audition and express interest in early February. 

There are six roles available along with backstage opportunities in the upcoming play: two women and six men ranging in ages from 20 to 80 fill out the cast. Auditions will be held at the Surrey Little Theatre at 7027 184th St. in Surrey at 2 p.m. on Feb. 1 and 7 p.m. on Feb 2.

Appointments are not necessary, but for more information visit www.surreylittletheatre.com or email Alaina Holland at mail4Alaina@yahoo.ca for information on the script, characters, or to review sides [script selections for the audition].

Alaina Holland will direct this performance as the spring production and entry for the Fraser Valley Zone Festival. 

Truth and Reconcilitaion is a suspensful play about a passionate young doctor who disappears during health care operations in Central America. 

Rehearsals will begin in February with a performance run from April 16 to May 16 with an additional performance in May for the Fraser Valley Zone Festival.

How to win!

A pair of tickets to I’ll Be Back Before Midnight. A pair of lucky readers will win two tickets to the play by Surrey Little Theatre.

How do you win?

• CLICK HERE, and tell us why you want to attend this show. You will be entered into the draw. Preference will be given to Langley residents.

Postings must be received prior to 5 p.m. on Feb. 3, and the winner will be notified by email. No staff or family of the Langley Advance or Glacier Media are eligible. The giveaway is restricted to online participants, 19 years or older only. Must include name and phone number.

Langley Advance