Written by Stephen
Mallatratt and Susan Hill
Directed by James
Scott
Honest Puck Theatre
Perform Australia
Theatre, Fyshwick to 26 May
Reviewed by Len Power
24 May 2019
Everyone likes a good ghost story. The best ones engage your imagination, giving
you a deliciously scary ride without making you feel really unsafe. The stories of M.R. James and ‘The Haunting
Of Hill House’ by Shirley Jackson are amongst the best, influencing later genre
writers like Stephen King, Peter Straub and Richard Matheson.
Susan Hill’s 1983 novel, ‘The Woman In Black’, set in the 19th
century in Victorian England, was a fine addition to the ghost story genre and
it’s adaptation as a play by Stephen Mallatratt in 1987 has been amazingly
successful. Still running in London, it
is now the second longest-running non-musical play in West End history, after ‘The
Mousetrap’.
Constructed as a play within a play, the story involves a
young solicitor sent to a remote part of England to settle the affairs of a
recently deceased woman. While there he has
a disturbing encounter with an apparition that has a major impact on his life.
The play has two main speaking characters with a
non-speaking performer playing the ghost. James Scott plays the author of the story, Arthur
Kipps, and Brendan Kelly is an actor in the framing play. In the play within a play, Kelly plays the
younger Arthur Kipps, the solicitor, and Scott plays several characters that
Kipps interacts with as the play proceeds.
Scott and Kelly give excellent performances and both actors maintain
a strong Victorian sensibility in bearing and language, avoiding melodramatics
with realistic playing. Katherine Berry maintains
an impressive stillness and presence as the ghost.
Directed by James Scott, the action is carefully paced to
suit the period and subject matter. The many
costumes by Victoria (Fiona) Hopkins have been thoughtfully designed for the
period and for quick changes. The sound
design for the show is especially effective. The set needed some additional
period design, especially around a door that is important to the plot.
It would have been more chilling to have the ghost appear
less substantial and clear, particularly for its first appearances. Like the young solicitor in the play, we
should be uncertain of what we saw. To
be fair, I have seen the play before, so I knew what to look out for.
Overall, this production is well-acted and directed and creates
a strong atmosphere. You can see why it
has had such a long run in London.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.