Thursday 14 February 2013

The Woman In Black

The Tour






The sound of nervous laughter fills the theatre as the audience takes their seats. It can't really be as scary as everyone says, can it?

A lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Julian Forsyth) has a story to tell. Grown old, it has plagued him for many years and we meet him on the day he has hired an actor (Anthony Eden) to help him tell his tale. We could be watching a comedy as we see the actor's rather bemused frustration at the old man's lacklustre reading. And so the actor suggests to tell it in the form of a play. The actor will play the young lawyer and Arthur will play the people he meets along the way.

What follows is a chilling performance with the tension building until you are gripping your seat and glancing around in fear of seeing The Woman in Black. Forsyth and Eden, who have both played the role on the West End, both give fantastic performances and of course not forgetting the other stars of the show, the sound and lighting crews who create the perfect atmosphere for such a ghostly tale. Nothing is overdone so you never know what to expect and the scary moments are always different and exciting. Not much else is needed, with just a few props and your imagination you will be left hiding behind your hands and filling the room with your screams.

And so it is easy to see why the show has continued to play to packed crowds for more than 25 years, the mystery and undeniable curiosity that surrounds it drawing people in. A marvellous piece of theatre, The Woman In Black will stay with you and haunt you well into the night.