Halloween Comes Early to Gloucester With The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black

Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from the book by Susan Hill

Directed by Karen MacDonald

Set and Costume Design, Props Master, David Reynoso; Lighting Design, Kenneth Helvig; Sound Design, Ben Emerson; Production Stage Manager, Katherine Shea

Featuring Steven Barkhimer, Shelley Bolman

Very special thanks to Amanda Collins

Performances through September 14, 2008 at Gloucester Stage Company

Box Office 978-281-4433 or www.gloucesterstage.org

Sharpen your senses, fire up your imagination, and bring along a hand to squeeze when you get scared out of your wits by The Woman in Black, the season-ender at Gloucester Stage Company. Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from the novel by Susan Hill, this Victorian era spine tingler is overflowing with secrets and has all of the ingredients of a great ghost story well told. 

Audience reaction is an integral component for sustaining the drama and suspense inherent in this ghost play, and Director Karen MacDonald utilizes the actors and patrons alike to create a chilling atmosphere. For the price of your ticket, you will feel yourself involved in the story as surely as you feel the crumbling of the fourth wall and the hair on your arms standing at attention. All good theatre productions rely on the exchange of energy between the cast and the folks out front, but MacDonald et al irresistibly pull us into the telling of this tale even as we wish there were seat belts securing us to our chairs. With Kenneth Helvig's lighting design employing generous amounts of darkness and Ben Emerson's evocative sound effects, including lonely train whistles and blood-curdling screams, the technical aspects of The Woman in Black provide vivid highlights and shading that enrich the scope of our experience. As set and costume designer, as well as props master, triple-threat David Reynoso dresses the actors in Victorian period garb and places them on a sparsely furnished stage so that they must pantomime much of the action and engage our imaginations.

The basis of the play is a fictional reading/rehearsal of the manuscript written by the troubled solicitor Arthur Kipps (Steven Barkhimer) to purge him of the events consuming his life. He hires an Actor (Shelley Bolman) to guide him through the process in the hope that revealing the details and facing them head on will accomplish an exorcism and enable him to move on. In a nifty piece of role reversal, the Actor takes on the persona of Kipps while directing him to play all of the ancillary characters in the story and they set about to prepare the presentation for an audience of Kipps' family and friends. What ensues is a gripping psychodrama documenting the lawyer's journey from London to the remote village of Crythin Gifford, along Nine Lives Causeway, to Eel Marsh House to attend a client's funeral and clean up her affairs. En route, Kipps encounters several townspeople who refuse to talk to him about the late Mrs. Drablow, foreshadowing the mystery and horror that he will encounter in her home.

The first act establishes the dynamic between the two men and delineates their personality traits. The solicitor is anxious and jumpy with a hair trigger response to any criticism from the Actor, while the latter is relaxed and confident. As they delve into the project, Kipps loosens up and even begins to embrace his acting assignments. Barkhimer is in his glory portraying more than half a dozen characters that are easily differentiated by dialect and facial expressions. He depicts an office assistant with a persistent case of the sniffles, a village solicitor who shows his discomfort by fidgeting with his bowler, and a pony-and-trap driver who wraps himself inside a heavy cloak against the mist on the moor and the spirits in the night.

In contrast to the numerous locale changes in the first half, the second act takes place primarily at Eel Marsh House with more narration by Kipps. Bolman convincingly shows the Actor's energy and courage flagging as he endures the strange goings-on in the isolated cottage. To combat the possibility of this segment feeling static, MacDonald cleverly chooses to have Barkhimer remain nearby onstage to mirror Bolman's actions and call attention to the fear that Kipps harbors even while watching the Actor go through the motions of telling his story. When we see Kipps cowering in a corner, it serves as a warning for us to brace ourselves for something bad or scary to happen, significantly increasing the anxiety level in the theatre. While I cannot tell you what transpires without spoiling the mystery, suffice to say that Bolman and Barkhimer masterfully ply their craft and compel our suspension of disbelief. To borrow a line from The Wizard of Oz, "I DO believe in spooks! I DO! I DO!"

Following the performance, the Director discussed her attempt to make the audience "uncomfortable." Many little things combine to enhance the creepy atmosphere. When the play begins, the house lights remain lit, in addition to a ghost light on the stage before the theatre is plunged into total darkness. A white sheet covers a writing table and chair in the middle of the stage. At times, an eerie yellow light seeps out from under a foreboding upstage door. But most of all, the writing is crisp and dramatic, the actors exude fear, and the audience absorbs it. The Woman in Black is a thrill ride and I recommend it, but leave the lights on when you get home.

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