There aren't many crime thrillers that run for 20 years in the West End. To run that long a play has to be good enough to see again, even after the ending has been revealed. And it has to be atmospheric enough still give you a small dose of the creeps, even if you can anticipate when the jumpy moments are coming and the pressure of unease is building. But
The Woman in Black makes the cut. Ha ha ha ha ha.
The play is known for being light on for characters, so that's another challenge when keeping the audience's attention and getting people to make a repeat visit. There's an old solicitor, who, as a young man, was brought down to a remote manor house in a remote town to attend the funeral of it's inhabitant. An actor he's enlisted to play his younger self as he recreates the story. And an actress who he's enlisted to play the Woman in Black, who haunted him on that long ago visit, causing him to dig up the terrible things that happened in the house. In the play it's the old solicitor who plays the people he spoke with in the town lending an other worldly feel to every exchange.
They look scared don't they
While the production is cleverly lit and designed for optimum unease, the real key to The Woman in Black is the writing. The play was made from a
novel of the same name, and retains many of the best crafted passages from the classic book. The ones that make this play like a ghost tale being told around a campfire - where the keys to unlocking the horror and sadness of the tale are hinted at and glimpsed while the tension builds rather than just being played out directly.
