Venue: Ensemble Theatre (Kirribilli NSW), Jun 11 – Jul 24, 2021
Playwrights: Susan Hill, Stephen Mallatratt
Director: Mark Kilmurry
Cast: Garth Holcombe, Jamie Oxenbould
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Theatre review
Arthur Kipps has engaged the expertise of an actor, to help him process, psychologically and emotionally, a traumatic event that has come to define his existence. The Woman in Black is a 1987 play, adapted by Stephen Mallatratt, from the 1983 book by Susan Hill. One of London’s longest-running productions, it is known for being an unusual example of a live show in the horror genre, with ghosts and the human imagination, creating a sense of dread and a series of scares, that form a crucial part of the theatrical experience.
Kipps is suffering from the aftermath of having been sent, as a junior solicitor, to a haunted house after the death of a client. Having seen and heard a series of strange and terrifying occurrences, he lives to tell the tale, if only in attempts to exorcise those dark imprints from his mind. The Woman in Black is a classic story, told in the most conventional way. Decades have past since the play’s original premiere, and although few have tried to emulate it on stage, innovations on the genre for the screen, have advanced by leaps and bounds.
In comparison with the multitude of horror films that have appeared over the last four decades, The Woman in Black feels too dated, and much too meek, for a worldly contemporary audience. Director Mark Kilmurry’s approach brings an appropriate air of nostalgia to the staging, but genuine instances of tension are desperately few. Spatial limitations in the auditorium mean that apparitions do not materialise in unsuspected places, and without sufficient possibilities for supernatural elements to be explored, much of the show’s efforts to scare, prove disappointing.
Production designer Hugh O’Connor is obviously restricted by what he can achieve for the set, but his work on costumes are finely detailed, on characters who look elegant at all times. Lights by Trudy Dalgleish are lush and beautiful in a classically gothic way, but it is Michael Waters’ sound design that does a lot of heavy lifting, complete with shrieks and screams urging us to get into the spirit of things.
Performers Garth Holcombe and Jamie Oxenbould are an excellent pair of storytellers, both dedicated and compelling. Oxenbould impresses with his deftness at switching seamlessly between personalities, in this “play within a play” format, but it is Holcombe’s insistence on conveying emotional truth, that provides the production with its saving grace. Beneath the flamboyant theatricality required in the portrayal of terror, is Holcombe’s embrace of the role’s psychological authenticity, which elevates the production to one that is worth ultimately, more than the sum of a few thrills and spills.
Kipps tries hard to heal himself of damage, one that is not unlike any mental injury that every person inevitably sustains from simply being alive. We watch him get on stage in order that he may go back in time, to re-enact and to relive the worst moments, in hope of attaining a new understanding of a confusing time, or simply to numb himself of memories that relentlessly haunt his every day and night. Indeed, art has the capacity to provide solace where all else fails, and at its most powerful, is able to bring concrete transformations to lives awaiting improvement. For those who only crave being scared out of their wits however, alternatives on the idiot box would probably deliver a more satisfactory result.
Suzy Goes See 