Burn is a Psychological Thriller That Delivers a Slow, Smoldering Payoff

If your Netflix watch history reveals a love of true crime, horror, thrillers, and whodunits, Playgoers of Lethbridge has a show this week you won’t want to miss.

Step into the dark, intimate Sterndale Bennett Theatre for Burn, a psychological thriller by Canadian playwright John Muggleton, directed by Henry Ross Jacobs. The production opens Tuesday, February 3rd, and runs through Saturday the 7th.

At Monday’s preview performance, Burn opened on a somber reunion of three friends mourning the recent death of another. They await the arrival of the deceased’s daughter, setting the stage for a night that grows steadily more mysterious. As secrets surface, the story twists and turns with each new revelation reframing everything that came before.

Burn is about storytelling entwined with long-buried secrets, and the local cast do a great job bringing it to the stage. The cast is made up of four characters: Robert, still reeling from the disappearance of his novelist wife five years earlier; arrogant David from the publishing house; empathetic, determined Sam; and unpredictable Eve, barging through the door and upending the evening into mystery.

The production balances witty dialogue with psychological tension, slowly winding toward a conclusion that’s both surprising and satisfying. It’s a genuine slow burn in the best way, with emotional stakes high and suspense layered thick.

Burn runs nightly at Sterndale Bennett Theatre from February 3rd to the 7th. You can get tickets at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca or by calling 329-SEAT.