The irresistibly eerie stage adaptation of The Woman In Black - the 1983 gothic ghost story by Dame Susan Hill - began its latest UK tour at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre last night.

This chilling drama, adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt, is the second longest-running play in the history of the West End (after The Mousetrap) and has been haunting audiences there for an incredible 33 years. What’s more, the show has been seen by over seven million people worldwide.

And if last night’s performance is anything to go by, it will continue to enthral and terrify audiences in equal measure for many a year to come!

A two-hander starring Malcolm James and Mark Hawkins, the play features a ‘play within a play’ and centres on the character of Arthur Kipps, a man who hires a young and sceptical actor to help him tell the story, to an invited audience, of events that have haunted him for 30 long years...

While employed as a junior solicitor, Kipps had been summoned to attend the funeral of his client, Mrs Alice Drablow, the only inhabitant of Eel Marsh House. Whilst settling her estate, he quickly realised that he was not a welcome guest at her sinister home...

Kipps hopes that by sharing his story, he will at last be able to exorcise the fear that has gripped his soul every minute of every day for the previous 30 years; the fear that he and his family have been cursed by a ‘woman in black’; a spectre which he had inadvertently encountered on that fateful day all those years earlier...

The play’s first act sets the scene, and whilst not particularly frightening, it builds just the right amount of tension and suspense. Act two is far more gripping, the sense of menace and malevolence being palpably ramped up. The horror feels real and extremely believable. I sat on the edge of my seat, hardly daring to breathe!

The show is brilliant in its simple staging. The inventive use of lighting and sound create a truly sinister atmosphere. Smoke machines mimic the prevailing mist, further heightening the mystery and suspense. The occasional moment of humour offers brief respite from the mounting tension.

Ultimately, though, the success of this play depends on the actors’ ability to ignite the imagination of the audience - something which James and Hawkins did to excellent effect last night. I was utterly gripped from start to finish. Indeed, I was still affected even later, after I’d left the theatre, by a sense of foreboding I found hard to shake.

This is a fabulous show, particularly if you’ve never seen it before and have no idea what to expect. My companion was a first-time attendee and spent much of the evening jumping out of her seat. For her, it was every inch a five-star production. 

5 stars

Reviewed by Sue Hull on Wednesday 6 September at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. The Woman In Black continues to show at the venue until this Saturday (9 September). The production then visits Malvern Festival Theatre (7 - 11 November),  The Alexandra Birmingham (5 - 10 February) and Crewe Lyceum Theatre (23 - 27 April).