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| John Waters and Daniel Macpherson in "A Woman in Black" |
Written by
Susan Hill – Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt
Directed by
Robin Herford – Associate Director Antony Eden
Designed by
Michael Holt – Lighting Design by Kevin Sleep
Sound Design
by Sebastian Frost – Original Sound Design by Rod Mead
Canberra
Theatre, July 10th – 14th, 2024 Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.
A homage to
the art of theatre- making and a reminder of the power of the human imagination
in good story-telling, The Woman in Black
up until 2023, had been running in London for over 30 years.
Canberra readers
may even remember Tessa Bremner’s 2005 production for The Canberra Repertory
Society which starred the late Oliver Baudert and Cameron Thomas.
This
production however is a reproduction of Robert Herford’s original, reproduced
for this current Australian tour by Antony Eden. Appropriately, it eschews whiz-bang
technical advances in modern theatre trickery production in favour of a return
to simple theatrical effects and excellent acting to spark the imagination and
entertain its audience. And remarkably
effective it is too.
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| Daniel Macpherson and John Waters in "The Woman in Black" |
Two of the
country’s most accomplished actors in John Waters as Arthur Kipps and Daniel
Macpherson a The Actor, manage to convince the willing audience that they are
watching as many characters as are necessary for the telling of Arthur Kipps
convoluted, gripping story involving a haunted house, a graveyard and perhaps,
a ghost.
Utilising the
conceit of convincing the audience that it is being let into some theatrical
tricks of the trade, both meet backstage of a musty old theatre.
The Actor
agrees to help Arthur Kipps improve his presentation skills in order to divest
himself of a series of troubling events which have been destroying his piece of
mind for years. In the process, they
both become thoroughly invested in the story-telling along with the audience.
By simply
adopting a different voice, or change of physical bearing and multiple quick
changes of clothing, the audience soon become complicit with the convention and
happy to go along with the pair as it too becomes involved in the story.
Laughs come
thick and fast as in seconds a wicker basket becomes a solicitor’s desk, a
railway carriage, an altar, a trap or a bed. A simple gauze lit from a different angle
reveals something previously invisible. Recorded sounds heighten the illusion.
However none of this would work without the skill of the actors, and both Waters and Macpherson revels in the opportunity to demonstrate their range.
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| John Waters and Daniel Macpherson in "A Woman in Black" |
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In fact what
they offer is a masterclass in timing, vocal delivery, stage deportment and commitment
to each character they create. The audience favourite however was Spider. You’ll
definitely fall in love with Spider.
Delightfully
entertaining and involving, even a bit scary at times, The Woman in Black should be de rigueur for any lover of theatre,
particularly for the opportunity it offers to experience two accomplished
actors exercising their considerable theatrical skills.
Images by Justin Nicholas
This review also posted in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au