OH the crackle of plastic and the ill-timed teenage hysterical giggle – sure-fire ways to dampen the spine-chilling tingle of the scariest ghost story...nearly.

The Woman in Black is the second longest-running play in the history of London’s West End, after The Mousetrap.

Spooky theatre is scarily thin on the ground. This is now a GCSE set text and a popular film, assuring a new generation of audiences.

Even the noisiest of sprites in the auditorium would have had to contend with the faint din of sweet-scavengers and odd heckles. Even the occasional scream, thankfully.

The tale is a spare, classic two-hander of a cursed apparition, based on a short story by Susan Hill and adapted by the late Stephen Mallatrat.

Theatre and spooks go together like lime and light, and this is also about the art of theatre itself.

Here we have a perfect partnership of Julian Forsyth as Arthur Kipps, a solicitor with a dreadful story to tell, and Antony Eden as The Actor, who plays a leading role in the ensuing classic, gothic, English horror.

All we need now is fog, an indeterminate English location Somewhere In The North, a dead female recluse and the scene is set.

We are in a shabby old, grand theatre for the most part, with the journey from London of the optimistic young Kipps told through backcloths, baskets and some superbly spooky shadow-work.

Effects are kept simple, but effective, even if the squeak of the clothes basket/pony trap did set at least three teens off giggling every time it emitted its willowy sigh.

The sense of terror and gloom is perfectly crafted with some great reveals, but I would have liked to have seen a little more magic on the stage as well as in our all-important imaginations. I could have sworn I saw a slightly disengaged ghost, but then this is theatre, after all.

  • Until Saturday. Call 08448- 112121 or go to theatreroyal.co.uk

 

Sarah Scott