It’s the first week of December; spooky Halloween is well and truly behind us, and we can start to feel fun and festive now, surely?
Photo © Mark Douet
But no, for The Woman in Black has brought herself to town, ensuring that fearsome frights hang around a little bit longer before Santa banishes them from the city.
This production of Susan Hill’s gothic chiller has become a phantasmagorical phenomenon. It has spooked audiences in the West End for an incredible 33 years, seen by seven million people. Surely after all this time, it can’t still be that effective can it?
Well, yes and no. There is no doubt that audiences have become more sophisticated (or maybe hardened) to chilling stage effects and jump scares during the past three decades, and recent ghostly plays such as 2:22, Ghost Stories and Inside No 9 use more devious effects to procure the frights.
The Woman In Black (partly because of its age and partly because it’s a period piece) relies instead on tried and tested tropes such as figures lurking in shadows, chairs rocking by themselves and sudden screams.
Some will consequently find this of limited effect, but certainly the audience in the stalls on press night were fully spooked and reacting audibly; likewise the atmosphere in the auditorium awaiting the start of act two was strikingly hushed, so anxiety levels were clearly running high. Clearly the old techniques still have some life (or death) in them.
As you would expect from such a tried and tested piece, the production is slick and seamless.
Director Robin Herford balances humour and tension adeptly, not being afraid to draw some moments of silence to breaking point.
Michael Holt’s set design is a wonder of dusty decay, with faded drapes claustrophobically surrounding the two characters, becoming eerily translucent to reveal the ethereal house behind, including at one point an ominous Nosferatu-style staircase.
Particular praise must go to Kevin Sleep’s expressionistic lighting design, all distorted angles and dreamlike states, reinforcing the surreal waking-nightmare atmosphere.
A play with only two actors (if you are not including the titular wraith) requires them to be skilful and sharing good chemistry, and the production is well served in this.
Daniel Burke as The Actor moves beautifully from assured cynicism and bravado through to palpable fear when alone with just the non-existent Spider the dog for company. John Mackay as the nervous protagonist Arthur Kipps shows impressive range multi-roling as the subsequent characters in the play-within-the-play, balancing timid humour with evasive stoicism.
On a set of just two chairs and a trunk, they ensure that the audience is held enrapt throughout.
The Woman in Black is fundamentally a period parlour game which has stood the test of time for decades. If you are already missing Halloween or finding Christmas too sugary, head over to the Theatre Royal this week and cross the foggy causeway into Eel Marsh House. The woman is waiting, and she is not happy.
The Woman in Black is showing at Theatre Royal Bath until 6th December. Box office: 01225 448844.
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Reviewer: Steve Huggins
