Night Must Fall

About Night Must Fall

Night Must Fall is a play, a psychological thriller, by Emlyn Williams, first performed in 1935.

Mrs Bramson, a bitter, fussy, self-pitying elderly woman, resides in a remote part of Essex, England, with her intelligent yet subdued niece, Olivia. Mrs Bramson spends all her time complaining while sitting in a wheelchair (although it is revealed during the play that she has in fact no disability whatsoever). Her rude, demanding attitude causes her to be thoroughly disliked by her only two servants, Dora, a young, sensitive maid and Mrs Terrence, the cook, as well as Olivia, who also is treated as a servant by her bitter aunt.

One day, Dora reveals she is pregnant, Mrs Bramson considers firing her, but then decides to persuade the father of Dora's unborn child to marry her. The father turns out to be a suave, handsome young man named Danny. Danny almost immediately charms Mrs Bramson, causing her to forget all about Dora's pregnancy and take Danny on as her private assistant.