One of the most terrifying live theatre experiences in the world arrives in Melbourne tonight. The Woman in Black has been receiving rave reviews across the country, and will play at the Athenaeum Theatre until 6 July 2024.
Described by The Guardian as “A Masterpiece” and by the Daily Telegraph (UK) as “The most brilliantly effective spine-chiller you will ever encounter”, The Woman in Black is the second longest-running play in West End history, after Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap.
Susan Hill’s acclaimed ghost story comes dramatically alive in Stephen Mallatratt’s ingenious stage adaptation, a brilliantly successful study in atmosphere, illusion and controlled horror. This gripping production stars two of Australia’s most acclaimed actors, John Waters and Daniel MacPherson.
Written in 1983, The Woman in Black has become one of the most successful gothic novels in the English canon. A perfect example of horror and gothic writing, readers are transported to the eerie setting of Eel Marsh House in the small market town of Crythin Gifford in the north of England.
The story is told through the first person narration of Arthur Kipps, who begins the novel too distressed to share a ghost story with his family, and then recounts how as a young solicitor he was sent to oversee the funeral of a Mrs Alice Drablow, a client of his law firm.
Along the way he encounters many who seem unwilling or unable to share the secrets of Eel Marsh House and its inhabitants, until he himself encounters the Woman in Black, and begins to unravel the mystery of the haunted past and eerie spectre he sees.
The Woman in Black opens tonight at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre, playing until 6 July, before heading to the Canberra Theatre Centre (9 – 14 July), Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong (17 – 21 July), Civic Theatre, Newcastle (23 – 27 July) and Theatre Royal Sydney (30 July – 17 August 2024). For more information, visit: www.thewomaninblack.com.au for details.
Image: John Waters stars in The Woman in Black – photo by Justin Nicholas