Vertigo turns the tables on age-old sexual trysts in Deadly Murder​on February 5, 2025 at 1:13 pm

Vertigo Theatre goes under the covers for its latest offering – an erotic thriller with a topsy-turvy view of sexual dynamics.

Deadly Murder has wealthy socialite Camille bringing young waiter BIlly home from a gala she attended. When she tries to send him packing after their tryst, he refuses to leave. Camille calls her building’s security guard, Ted, to evict her latest one-night stand, setting the stage for some unexpected twists and turns.

Playing an older woman with a penchant for young, attractive men was one of the major draws for Shari Wattling, who plays Camille in this Canadian premiere of David Foley’s 2007 thriller.

“A character like Camille is a rarity for women over 50. She’s vibrant, dynamic and very confident in who she is. She’s a successful jewelry designer who owns the building where she lives. She’s at the top of her game, and she carries her success, strength, intelligence and sexuality with pride,” says Wattling, adding, “but there wouldn’t be a play if she wasn’t hiding something.”

Wattling likens what Camille has done with her past to putting something away in a box and locking it up.

“We may think what we lock away is gone and forgotten, but it’s always just waiting to be opened and exposed. The play asks if we can ever really run away from our past, and also how much of our present is defined by our past.”

The first twist in what is very much a serpentine thriller is whether or not Camille’s encounter at the gala with Billy, played by Jay Northcott, was really a chance meeting.

“Billy seems to know things about Camille he shouldn’t. What attracted her to him, besides his youth, was he seemed ambitious and driven, qualities she admires but fears he’s using against her. He has street smarts and that makes him dangerous.”

Ted, played by David Haysom, is aware of Camille’s predilections and has always been loyal and trustworthy, but he seems to know Billy, further complicating matters.

“This is very much a three-character play. Ted is very integral to the plot. All three characters have secrets that will be revealed. The fates of all three hinge on what happens over the course of this one night, and the audience has to figure out what is truth and what is lies. This gives Deadly Murder the feeling of such classic whodunits as Sleuth and Deathtrap,” says Wattling.

Because of the erotic nature of the plot, and the fights which occur, Deadly Murder required the services of Laryssa Yanchak, one of Canada’s foremost fight and intimacy directors.