The Woman in Black theatre review

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The Woman in Black: Theatre Review

On the 19th April I attended the performance of ‘The Woman in Black’ in the New Theatre in Cardiff. Not only was the spine tingling ghost story very well performed and presented but it also had the eerie effect that made you jump out of your seats at unexpected moments, especially as it climaxed towards the end. The Woman in Black was first performed at the theatre-by-the-sea in Scarborough back in 1987. The original production received enthusiastic reviews, making the way for future productions throughout the country. It reached the West End in 1989 where it has drawn in audiences ever since.

‘The Woman in Black’ is about a young man and junior solicitor, Arthur Kipps who visits the tall and isolated Eel Marsh House to sort out papers after the death of Alice Drablow, a woman who lived and died alone in the house after giving up her only son to her sister. Being alone in the house during his stay, apart from having a friendly dog for a companion, makes him more suspicious yet unaware of the real story behind her death and as the story progresses he becomes more and more curious. The woman in black enters at the start of the play, almost appearing out of nowhere as a dim light sets on her when Arthur Kipps notices her presence at the back of Mrs Drablows funeral. She enters slowly into this scene from steps at the bottom of the stage. With her black clothes flowing in the dimmed spotlight and the church window light effect, this created an uneasy suspense leading up to when he actually turns around and sees her. As she entered the audience could almost feel the fear inside Mr Kipps which created an excellent disturbing atmosphere. The look of her set unease to the whole play from the very start. We never get told who plays the part of the woman in black; this makes the story seem more real as the characters never find out her true identity. She was a young girl with a pale, wasted face, dressed all in black and she always seemed to appear from nowhere in the most unlikely and creepiest of times. The actor playing young Mr Kipps later sees her again in the graveyard at the back of the house and even though he asks questions and begs for answers the locals do not wish to bring up the tale of the woman in black. Throughout the play she slowly reveals her identity to him and he finally realises her horrifying intentions, as every time someone sets eyes on her, a young child dies.

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The acting styles, I thought, were brilliant and excellently performed to give the play the spookiness and edge to it. Even though there were only two actors throughout the whole play, excluding the woman in black, they used their abilities very well and could exchange roles easily and smoothly. When first starting to explain the story, old Mr Kipps was unsure of how to tell the story and create an atmosphere to set the first scene. This worked well as it meant that it created more suspense when he actually started to put feeling into the narration and brought ...

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