Review: The Woman in Black - The Lowry

HAVING read Susan Hill’s chilling ghost story and watched the movie starring Daniel Radcliffe as haunted solicitor Arthur Kipps, it was a pleasant surprise to find this stage adaptation brings a new dimension to the tale, even if you think you know it.

The play, of course, has been performed for 25 years in London and about three million people have shivered and jumped at the chilling events that took place at the isolated Eel Marsh House, years after a dreadful tragedy.

The book and film have more than a dozen main characters, but this production has just two (not counting the scary female apparition of the title) and part of its success is the meticulous construction of dread and atmosphere without resorting to special effects or expensive scenery.

Robin Herford was the first to stage the play, as artistic director in Scarborough, and it was his friend, playwright Stephen Mallatratt – who died in 2004 – who said he felt an adaptation of Hill’s book would fit with the budget limitations they had to work to.

Herford also directs this production and his point about the audience’s imagination being a crucial element of the performance is spot on.

The two actors, Malcolm James and Matt Connor, have a lot of work to do over the one hour 45 minutes running time and it is their talent and skill, combined with clever lighting and sound design which helps to keep the tension high – particularly in the second half.

School parties made up much of the audience – Hill’s novel is a set text – and the scares certainly had the desired effect on many of the teenagers, who screamed the house down.

However, I believe this production’s success is more about messing with your mind than making you jump, and, because all the elements work so well together, the stage version of The Woman in Black manages to linger in the memory long after the curtain falls.

Ian Savage