Governor General's Award-winning playwright Nicolas Billon joins Laura Mullin to talk about his play The Neighbours and why the thriller form is the best tool he has for asking the questions that haunt him. Billon traces his love of suspense back to Hitchcock and explains why dread is one of the most honest ways to get an audience leaning in. He breaks down his choice to use direct address, what it does to an audience when a character looks right at them, and how becoming a father has changed him as a writer.

Denise and Simon have lived on Stanley Court for thirty-one years. They know their neighbours, they wave hello, and they throw a barbecue every May. But seven months ago, their next-door neighbour was exposed as the man who kidnapped ten-year-old Kayla Brown and kept her locked in a cage in his basement for twelve years. Now, as the couple pieces together the aftermath, the uncomfortable questions are just beginning.

Featuring: Ordena Stephens-Thompson, Tony Nappo and Richard Tse.

And if you are looking for more thrillers by Nicolas Billon, check out Butcher available on PlayME in our archives.

When Denise and Simon are called to the police station, what they find there will connect their family to Kayla's story in ways they never could have imagined and force them to reckon with a question with no comfortable answer: how much did they really know?

Featuring: Ordena Stephens-Thompson, Tony Nappo and Richard Tse.