Apprehension

by L.B. Deyo

Joe Dempsey is trying to rebuild his life during an emotional breakdown. He’s on medication, unemployed, recovering at home with his wife and daughter. But strange gaps in his memory, unsettling dreams, and the sense that his friends are hiding something begin to unravel his grip on reality.

When a forgotten photograph resurfaces — snow, a missing girl, and Joe standing beside people he doesn’t remember —...

Joe Dempsey is trying to rebuild his life during an emotional breakdown. He’s on medication, unemployed, recovering at home with his wife and daughter. But strange gaps in his memory, unsettling dreams, and the sense that his friends are hiding something begin to unravel his grip on reality.

When a forgotten photograph resurfaces — snow, a missing girl, and Joe standing beside people he doesn’t remember — paranoia takes hold. Joe becomes convinced he was involved in something horrific he can’t recall. His friends insist he’s imagining things. His wife begins to pull away. And the truth, when it finally arrives, is far worse than madness.

Apprehension is a psychological thriller about memory, complicity, and whether we can trust the people we love — or our own minds.

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Apprehension

Recommended by

  • Noah Masterson: Apprehension by L.B. Deyo
    “

    I had the honor of seeing Apprehension twice, because once was not enough. It will stick with you long after the curtain is called. It's a tense, Hitchcockian psychological thriller that also knows when to lighten the mood with unexpected humor. Is Joe going crazy? Or is everyone really out to get him? You'll have to see it to find out.

    I had the honor of seeing Apprehension twice, because once was not enough. It will stick with you long after the curtain is called. It's a tense, Hitchcockian psychological thriller that also knows when to lighten the mood with unexpected humor. Is Joe going crazy? Or is everyone really out to get him? You'll have to see it to find out.

    ”
  • Ava Love Hanna: Apprehension by L.B. Deyo
    “

    Apprehension is a fantastic play. It masquerades as a nonchalant, yet uncanny portrait of suburban depression before peeling back the surface to reveal something much, much darker. Deyo uses the banal repetition of domestic life to mirror a terrifying, inescapable cycle. I love how the setting feels both timeless and 'out of sync', inspired foreshadowing for the loop Joe/Finn is caught in. It's a clever and perfectly executed psychological horror. Would love to see this on stage!

    Apprehension is a fantastic play. It masquerades as a nonchalant, yet uncanny portrait of suburban depression before peeling back the surface to reveal something much, much darker. Deyo uses the banal repetition of domestic life to mirror a terrifying, inescapable cycle. I love how the setting feels both timeless and 'out of sync', inspired foreshadowing for the loop Joe/Finn is caught in. It's a clever and perfectly executed psychological horror. Would love to see this on stage!

    ”

Production History

  • Community Theater, Hyde Park Theatre, 2025