The Woman in Black Review

The Woman in Black Review

Upon the arrival in London my anticipation was high. My first

impression of the Fortune Theatre was; it was a very old Victorian

building, very small and slightly ragged. Upon entering it felt very

cramped and made you feel claustrophobic. The atmosphere was eerie due

to the old style of the building. This was particularly effective as

the play was set in the Victorian period. This made you feel as if you

were in the past. Also the narrow staircase and small seating area

created effect. Before the play starts there is no background music

played to set a scene or image in the audiences mind. The play starts

without warning and lights go down and we are straight into the story.

The play is set in a theatre and the audience see the actors

rehearsing a manuscript to an empty crowd. At first the older actor

was reading his story as if he was an appalling actor. This technique

used was effective and gave some comic relief at the start of the

play. He mumbled his words without emotion which was in total contrast

to the younger actor. The younger actor was very articulate and

pronounced his words properly, both characters spoke with posh

accents. By doing this it lulled the audience in to an almost false

sense of security. Fans blew into the theatre to make the ambience

cold and chilling.

Diagram of the Stage

The audience were seated in front of the stage. This was so the whole

audience would all see the play in the same way. Also this would

ensure the woman in black wouldn’t be able to be spotted. The set was

open and most things on the stage were shown. There was a clothes rack

which was covered, a wicker basket which was closed and some metal

buckets. There was a door which was shut but we did not know to where

it would lead. However during the play we discovered a whole new

dimension to the stage. Behind a gauze there was another part of the

stage. If this had been shown some of the creative element would have

been lost as we wouldn’t be surprised to see it. Also the fact the

only time the audience saw the back of the stage was when the actors

themselves were present there. This would link the audience to the

actor and heighten the personal bond.

Spotlights were used a lot in this production. It persuaded the

audience to focus on one area of the stage. It also gave a creepy

effect, as you c...

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... something bad to happen. After the

loud, unexpected sounds there were many long pauses, which added to

the sinister atmosphere. In my opinion this was the most effective use

of sound.

By the end of the play there was still a disturbing ambience as I

walked away. I had thoroughly enjoyed the play and was suitably

scared. Any more and I may not have been able to sleep. I took away

many aspects of acting, which could be useful in the future. The use

of silence and torches in the darkness were some of my favourites. The

play was enjoyable and funny but also terrorizing. One of the most

amusing parts was the dog spider scene. This was hard to act as they

were pretending there was a dog but it was done with the utmost ease.

It was funny how the older man kicked the dog saying “it does what I

say”. If I was a critic for a magazine my short caption would read;

“The Woman in Black” is a play with a distressing plot, of ghastly

ghostly terror. Set in the Victorian times it sends a feeling of

emptiness and solitude through you, nevertheless an obvious first

choice for taking the young ones to see, to appreciate and learn from

the immaculate actors and use of stage crew!