A Critical Review of ‘The Woman In Black’, seen at The Fortune Theatre, 9th July 2001.

When Arthur Kipps was first introduced to the play, the actor used closed body language, no eye contact and a voice which showed the audience that he was a nervous, timid, worried type of man. At the same time it was obvious he was desperate to get something off of his chest due to the anxiousness he portrayed through his body language and persistence to get the story over with. When the other actor suggested they act out his story, he was very against it (where his shyness showed through more strongly). Protesting to the fact that he couldn't act - which we also saw evidence of at the very start. But very quickly he was drawn into it and seemed to enjoy unleashing his secret as well as entertaining his guests.

The actor clearly showed he was 'just an actor' by continually going in and out of role to aid his partner and give his directorial opinions and constantly looking at his script. This shows that his character was just helping to tell a story in the best possible way.

The amount of dramatic tension which was created by the actors and sound and lighting effects was outstanding as there were only two

Sam Cushion 11A

A Critical Review of 'The Woman in Black', seen at The Fortune Theatre, 9th July 2001.

people on stage at any one time throughout the whole play, although there were many characters. The use of space and movement was brilliant in that every part of the stage must have been stepped upon. Different lighting effects - such as dimming and spotlights and sound effects - such as spooky music and sharp choppy high pitched music were also used to create the dramatic tension which worked so well.

The characters influenced the audience's vision - in that when they were looking for something you would find yourself looking for it too. The use of mime was superb, there were two mime pieces - a dog and a horse and carriage. The dog was a companion for the gentleman in the house, they formed a bond and when he would talk to the dog you would find yourself looking at the empty space on the floor perhaps admiring the dog's shiny coat. I was brought close to tears at one point when the dog is drowning in a marsh and the young man saves him. It was like the dog was real, just invisible, not fake. Just as with the horse and carriage, they way they moved - bopped up and down, swayed side to side and the realistic sound effects worked marvelously. They were incorporated very well. They were loud, obvious and at times extremely harrowing, for example the shrill scream of the woman in black.

I enjoyed the play very much. It reached out to me - I experienced feelings such as fear, anxiety and pity, to name but a few. I didn't even notice that there were just two actors on stage throughout the whole play, until afterwards when I thought back to it. This, to me, indicates a great achievement - of great acting. This play had the potential to be boring - but the actors, characters and storyline were superb. I would definitely recommend the play for an entertaining evening out.