Review on The Woman In Black

The Woman In Black is known to be a thrilling and startling but clever piece of theatre. As a person who is not easily scared, I was very cautious coming to watch this as I didn't think I'd 'fall' for it. It's safe to say I was surprised, the play was clever and humorous.

The stage was small and simple yet effective. Due to the story line actually being a theatre production/rehearsal, the props played into that very well. Small directorial decisions - like having the bucket at the beginning kicked over just to make the audience jump and to relieve some of the built up tension in the room, the use of the see through curtain to add disconnection from the hooded figure or the typical 'thriller movie' swinging rocking chair - were extremely clever. However, it was the lighting that made the set really effective. It created tension and atmosphere that struck fear and anticipation in the audience.

Despite having set the perfect atmosphere for terror and panic, I often felt the acting was over-exaggerated which lead to disbelief of the story. For example, the scene near the end of the second act were 'The Actor' is chasing after the dog - so much was being screamed or shown through the audio and visual but it lacked realness. Overall, the actors were charming and relaxed - they created a clear juxtaposition to hooded 'Woman In Black'.

To conclude, I thought it was a humorous thriller that was cleverly shown to strike panic and frighten the audience. I recommend that if you go to see it to get tickets in the stalls - if you want the full interactive experience.