I was invited along to the press night of The Woman in Black at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford yesterday. I have seen the show previously in London, but not for many years, so I was excited to be able to see it again.
As soon as you enter the auditorium, the stage sets the scene for what is to come. Dark, dingy and quite bare, it is very atmospheric. The plot revolves around the ghost story of a woman, with a horrific face of stretched skin over her bones, dressed all in black, haunting the home of Alice. It is a dark and twisted tale of revenge, anger, evil and murder and it provides a wonderfully eerie atmosphere in the theatre.
As you can imagine from a play with this theme, there are many moments that caused the audience to jump and scream, often resulting in nervous laughter. This was done very effectively with moody lighting and loud and obnoxious sound effects, I think this is probably what most of the audience had come for, as they delighted every time they jumped out of there seats. I found myself checking around me every time I heard a noise, in case the woman in black was there. And sometimes she was.
The staging is very simple, which I found added to its charm, and added to that feeling of telling ghost stories around a campfire, although this time, it was much more dangerous. The two actor's who took us on the journey of Arthur Kipps and his dealings with the ghost were exceptional and handled the immense volume of words they had to memorise with great attack. I did feel at times, it was a little too wordy, which sometimes got lost in the large auditorium, however this was nicely balanced with moments of still and silence, building the tense atmosphere.
Arthur Kipps was played by Robert Goodale, in a charming and humble delivery. He was bumbling, unsure and modest as Kipps which was very sweet to see, and especially impressive as Goodale transformed impeccably into each of the various other characters he played throughout the play. Each one cleverly represented and thought out, each one with a strong and distinct identity of their own.
He was joined in his story by 'The Actor' played by Daniel Easton. Easton lead the story in a strong and confident performance, evoking a lot of the moments of tension, atmosphere and horror. Many of the scary moments were driven by Easton, and he didn't fail to have us all on edge, in the palm of his hand.
Easton and Goodale had a brilliant chemistry on stage, their relationship was believable and charming and humorous.
The direction by Robin Herford was very imaginative and I really enjoyed how he made use of a simple set, with very few props. At times you could forget you were watching two men sitting on a wicker basket and actually believe they were in a pony and trap on the marshes.
I think that one of the key aspects of creating this atmosphere was the lighting, which was designed by Kevin Sleep. It diverted your eyes to exactly the right spots on the stage to add to the shock when the woman in black appears, and also pulled the audience into the storytelling on stage.
Judging by the reaction of the audience at The Orchard Theatre on Monday 28th October, this play has not lost its charm or effect over its 27 year run. I think people will always enjoy a good ghost story, and this one has all the tension, suspense and "boo" moments you would hope for. A classic spooky tale, with Halloween coming up, there is no better time to head over to The Orchard Theatre, Dartford and check it out for yourself. If you can hold your nerve.
The Woman in Black is on at The Orchard Theatre until the 2nd November 2019.
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