Rating [rating=4]
Reviewed by Roz Carter
There is nothing more satisfying than taking a theatre disparager to see The Woman in Black. Back when I was a young whippersnapper I took my then boyfriend, who claimed that ‘there’s no way theatre can be scary’ (he’d obviously never seen the queue for the ladies at the interval) and then promptly reduced him to a whimpering shell of a man. This time I took my very good chum who, although not quite a cynic, has never really thrown her arms open to a love affair with theatre; she now won’t sleep without the light on.
The Woman in Black is one of those rare shows that has never dated, never become stilted and is guaranteed to reduce even the most doubting of Thomases to a cowering mess. It has become a gateway show that bridges the gap between the camp, high energy explosion that is the London musical scene and the subtleties of drama. This was evident last night when the audience began applauding between scene changes as you would right after a big show tune, thankfully this stopped after the 3rd half-hearted attempt. In any other show this would have been severely frowned upon (and I must admit I did have a little tut) but thanks to the audience’s gasps, screams and shrieks during the rest of the play it was duly forgotten.
Based on the horror novel by Susan Hill and adapted by Stephen Mallatratt, The Woman in Black is a delicious slice of metatheatre where an elderly Arthur Kipps hires a young actor to help him tell the story that has haunted him for years. The actor then takes on the role of a young Arthur while Mr. Kipps takes on the multiple role of everyone else in the story. This technique is bursting with theatricality and eases the audience into a suspension of disbelief that is never broken.
Julian Forsyth tackles the challenging role of the reluctant actor Arthur KIpps with great gusto and he seamlessly slips between characters with each role clearly defined down to the finest gesture. As ‘The Actor’, Antony Eden is a sublime storyteller, deftly setting the scenes which he finds himself in. At times his performance can seem a little too theatrical but this is swiftly remedied once the action gets under way.
Kevin Sleep’s lighting, Michael Holt’s set and Gareth Owen’s sound design all interweave to create a spooky and suggestive staging. But what is really impressive is how Robin Herford’s direction has the actor completely inhabiting the space with no corner left unused and no prop left Idly waiting. The design becomes part of the story and allows the actors to truly build suspense using the audience’s own imaginations.
In the programme for The Woman in Black there is a lament about how few ghost stories make the transition to the stage. This is completely redundant as this show has become the yard stick against which all other ghosties and ghoulies will be measured by. Just make sure you don’t see it alone…
The Woman In Black plays at the Richmond Theatre until 30th March 2013.