THEATRE REVIEW: The Woman in Black

11.06.22 at Pumphouse Theatre, Auckland

The Woman in Black is a classic gothic horror story, complete with the eerie English manor, the vengeful spirit and terrifying twist at the end. I am already a huge fan of this specific tale, having read the novel and watched the movie several times. So when I heard The Woman in Black was playing at Pumphouse Theatre, I knew I had to be there. 

To be honest, I was unsure of how the suspense and horror of this story would be captured in a stage adaptation. There is an added difficulty in suspending belief in stage shows because you can see the characters on stage are alive and well - they are not actually being haunted nor are they actually ghosts. The feeling of fear has to be conjured through technical elements unique to the theatre - experimental lighting, sounds, blocking and props. To me, horror theatre is about being experimental, using technical aspects that haven’t been considered before. With this in mind, I was blown away with Matt Baker’s The Woman in Black

Baker used light, sound and object as red herrings to pull off the sleight of hand of horror theatre. Even though I have a lot of familiarity with the source text, I still jumped at the right times. In particular, the use of light was fantastic. The emulated light of an oil lamp had me on the edge of my seat. Like the character, I could only see so far on the stage: Everything else was shrouded in darkness.

“Baker used light, sound and object as red herrings to pull off the sleight of hand of horror theatre”

I love it when stage directors try to push the audience into what the character is actually seeing. This is one of the pillars of horror - rather than using dramatic irony, where we know something will happen, the jumpscare tension comes from being equally in the dark as the character. When the character is in terrified confusion about where the monster will be next, so are we! It’s a great way to keep the audience suspended in the tension. The scares were so effective, that at one point, an audience member yelled out “STOP IT!!”. I also really enjoyed the use of conventional horror film sounds to create a very real tension on the stage - the ominous ambient sound and slowing low-pitched tones, it all added to the atmosphere. 

Furthermore, the acting was incredible. When Michael Hurst and Zane Fleming opened the play, there was this immediate playful rapport. The opening banter was a great way to disarm the audience, with everyone laughing in this opening section. Also, the flow in narration and character between Hurst and Fleming was impeccable. I was captivated by their seamless movements between past and present, fact and fiction. Layered storytelling is hugely important to The Woman in Black source text, so I loved the manifestation of this theme within the stage directions. The narrative dance of Hurst and Fleming really showcased the uniqueness of this story. 

Hurst, in particular, had an almost chameleon-like quality to his acting: I knew it was still Hurst playing each different character and yet somehow, I didn’t. His body, his walk, his quiet contemplation changed with each character. It was a joy to see. 

The Woman in Black is already a spine-chilling tale of ghostly revenge, but with the added layer of Baker’s direction, it is a genuinely terrifying theatre experience. The sound, the light and the acting, all of it was beyond what I could have expected. Hats off to the cast and crew for this amazing (and haunting) performance. 

The Woman in Black is directed by Matt Baker and presented by Masked Productions. Michael Hurst stars as Arthur Kipps and Zane Flemings stars as The Young Actor, The Woman in Black is playing at the Pumphouse Theatre from 11th June - 19th June. Grab your tickets here!

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