Let's play: THE WOMAN IN BLACK

(Who knew theatre could be so scary...I mean, besides "Cats" of course)



For our my theatre class's third play, I got the best seats yet. Front and center for the terrifying "The Woman in Black." There's only way British actress I could use to rate this play, and that's simply the scariest woman alive - Dame Judi Dench.*

FOUR DENCH'S out of five.
Adapted by Stephen Mallatrait
Now playing at Fortune Theatre
Run time: 1 hr. 50 min.

"The Woman in Black"
By Matt Levin

Out of nowhere, the woman in black steps on stage. Her wretched, pale face and wasted body stands silent, unnoticed by the two main characters.

It's a chilling moment. Even though, little happens. No gore. No torture. No death. But her presence sets up a terrifying premise that delivers with haunting scenes that will have audience members jumping out of their seats at the sound of every noise, every bump in the darkness.

"The Woman in Black" is a traditional horror film, except its a play. Who knew theatre could be so scary?

The story centers on an aging lawyer (Andrew Jarvis as Arthur Kipps) who asks an actor (Tim Watson) to help him excise his demons by having Watson retell a true ghost story that's haunted Kipps his entire life. The play achieves its scares through spooky lighting, creepy sound effects and an unnerving the script. It's a sparse set, with the only special effects being a thick smoke that occassionally blankets the stage. "The Woman in Black" has been running for more than two decades in the constricted Fortune Theatre.

It's all on the actors to sell their terror andJarvis and Watson do so brilliantly. Jarvis shows unbelievable range as he embodies multiple characters from his past. The play starts off perhaps a little too slow, though some funny scenes never leave the audience bored.

Not every scare works either, but it's a guarantee that each theatergoer will jump from his or her seat at some point during the production. As the actor and Kipps start to reenact Kipps' story the audience realizes nothing can be more unsettling than a little suspense - especially as the play progresses, and the woman in black appears, we're led to question whether the story being re-told on stage is truly a "retelling" or something a bit more frightening.

None of the garbage seen in today's "horror" films can be found in the play adapted by Stephen Mallatrait from a Susan Hill novel. Most modern horror seems to want to shock and schlock the viewer with over-the-top violence. "The Woman in Black" takes a more minimalist approach when it comes to horror, but that just leaves more for the imagination. And what's scarier than that...*

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Foot notes

*Who would in a fight between Judi Dench and Chuck Norris? Trick question: Dench is Chuck Norris.
*Besides ellipses of course. Nothing's scarier than ellipses. Nothing...