The Woman In Black
Originally a novella written by Susan Hill, The Woman in Black was adapted for the theatre by Stephen Mallatrat in 1987. Although the Daniel Radcliffe film came last, it’s probably the most well-known among modern, mainstream theatregoers.
That said, the Robin Herford-directed production of The Woman in Black at Norwich Theatre Royal defied any expectations the film had set. It stood on its own as innovative, arresting theatrical achievement.
Most notably, Mallatrat’s script diverges from the book via a framed narrative. “The action takes place in this Theatre about one hundred years ago,” reads the programme. The mysteriously named “Actor” (played by Matthew Spencer) is preparing protagonist Arthur Kipps (David Acton) to perform his traumatic true story (i.e. Hill’s tale) to a small audience.
The framing was an innovative device, and one that the cast pulled off convincingly. They cemented the play’s realism, making the upcoming events all the more creepy.
The minimalist style was also refreshing. The play had a two-person cast (not counting the Woman in Black herself), but it remained multi-layered throughout. Actors flitted between characters by simply switching coats, yet failed to kill the heavy suspense. The-play-within-a play dimension and seamless transitions made sure that never happened.
The set ranged from minimalist to sophisticated – a trunk was used as a horse and cart in the same scene that a machine billowed murky fog. This mixture blurred lines between fiction and reality further, something that the play did extremely well throughout.
A clever horror, The Woman in Black relied on delicately built suspense rather than jump scares and gore. Surprisingly, I managed to get to sleep that night, but I can’t promise that I don’t still feel unsettled. It was a thrilling theatrical feat. Go see it, and forget about the film!
9/10
