‘The Woman in Black’—Court

Press, 16 October 1989, Page 6

‘The Woman in Black’ —Court

“The Woman in Black,” adapted by Stephen Mallatrat from the book by Susan Hill. Directed by Elric Hooper for the Court Theatre. At the Court One from Saturday, October 14. Running time: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reviewed by John Farnsworth. Welcome to the familiar territory of the haunted house. This is the scene of sudden screams, looming spectres, Nameless Dreads, sweaty nights of unspeakable terror, and thoroughly implausible explanations of it all, to which this play is no exception. Indeed, hardened horror addicts and thrillseekers may pass on by — in spite of its impressive atmosphere this production will hold no terrors and few surprises. What it does possess is two excellent performances a and a ni<& sense of theatre let <ywn by

a rather disappointing script. Paul Barrett plays a shrinking Edwardian lawyer who must tell a full-blown horror story at a Christmas party. For his hosts it is an amusement, for him it has been a reality, and he seeks the assistance of a suave actor-mana-ger (K. C. Kelly) to recreate his ghastly experiences. Between them, they gradually massage the past back to life and we learn of his trip to a forbiddingly lonely house surrounded by the sea and the fog, a mysterious woman in black, ominous warnings, quaking locals, etc. Promisingly enough, the story sets out as a metafiction. It comments on the way it is constructed as the two men discuss Sow the two of them are going to reproduce the effects which are designed to scare not only the Christmas party

of course, us through lighting, sound and mime. It is an amusing and sophisticated device which stops the play taking itself too seriously. Unfortunately, this mostly disappears later in favour of straightforward Victorian melodrama. In the process, however, the Court presents a formidable range of atmospherics. There is Tony Geddes’s set strewn with old theatrical bric-a-brac — a big varnished window frame, a huge wicker trunk, a gauze backdrop — imaginatively enhanced by Mike McKenzie’s suggestive and intricate lighting design. There is Sheena Baines’ complex battery of sound effects: clopping hooves, croaking crows, screams, invisible clumping feet and so on. And there are two good performances. Between them, K. C. Kelly>> and Paul Barrett create an entire/.

cast of characters. If Kelly is not quite the upper-crust thespian he still produces powerful story-tell-ing skills and a vivid performance. Paul Barrett, moving from a bowler hat to a costume which looks as if it was rescued from the set of “The Navigator,” produces a whole parade of deft cameos. And under Elric Hooper’s direction they effortlessly conjure up a non-existent world: a rocking train-ride, a horse and trap and even imaginary dog. For this they rightly drew warm applause. This from ah audience which looked for the most part as if it had endured a few mild frissons but hardly seemed in a state of shock. And that pretty much sums up the play’s outcome: satisfaction but no terror.-