The Woman in Black

Brianne and I had our fill of Halloween chills a little late this year. Last night we went to the Fortune Theatre near Covent Garden to see the acclaimed "spine-chiller" play The Woman in Black. We had been told by that this play is genuinely as frightening as a good suspense/horror film, and we can both assure you that the hype is totally believable.

The play is based on an English horror novel of the early '80's, and is presented as the tale of an old man named Arthur Kipps who has hired an actor to help him tell his story "which must be told" in order to exorcise the personal demons the experience has left him with. The show is presented in a very intimate space with sparse sets, simple costumes and only two actors . . . plus, of course, the ghostly spectre of the completely uncredited Woman of the title.

The show is genius in it's simplicity. It relies on deft lighting, masterful sound design, the art of misdirection, and the superb storytelling skill of it's actors. One could say they use the same tricks as a campfire ghost story, and yet they are pulled off magically. I kid you not, the audience was screaming in fear by the end, us included. The chills were on par with my best experiences of Hitchcock.

After the show, Brianne and I hung around the stage door to let the actors know how much we enjoyed the performance. The younger man who played The Actor, was appreciative but had to hurry off to catch his train. The older gentleman who played Kipps was positively delighted to stop and chat with us, and in fact we strolled and chatted all the way to Charing Cross station discussing our acting experiences. He had recently played Gandalf and Elrond in the West End production The Lord of the Rings, and years ago had taught privately in Toronto! I was particulary keen to speak with him as he played multiple characters in the play, which is a challenge I am often given in my shows. His advice on this task was inspiring; I was beaming by the time we parted ways. What a wonderful night in the theatre.