Some ghost stories fade with time. The Woman in Black is not one of them. After more than three decades haunting the West End, Susan Hill’s refreshed classic has slipped into Theatre Royal Brighton for a new round of spine-prickling, seat-gripping, please-don’t-look-behind-you theatre.
If you’ve never seen it, here’s the set-up: an ageing lawyer, Arthur Kipps, is desperate to unload a story that’s haunted him for years. To make sense of it, he ropes in a young actor, and the two begin reenacting the strange events that once swallowed his life. It starts gently enough – just two people in an empty theatre – but the deeper they go into Kipps’ memories, the thinner the line between performance and something… colder becomes. The tension isn’t loud or cheap, it’s the kind of slow, creeping dread that slinks up the spine and settles there.
This production’s two-hander format is still its superpower. John Mackay brings worn-down intensity to Kipps, a man frayed at every edge, while Daniel Burke’s Actor injects the early scenes with energetic charm – the kind that makes the later shifts in tone land even harder. Together, they build a world out of nothing more than shadows, silence and the occasional horrifying glimpse of what might be lurking just out of sight.
Apart from very clever sound design, you can really feel how much the show leans on almost nothing: a sparse set, minimal props, and those clever floor-to-ceiling drapes that shift the centre of the action from cosy theatre warmth to something far more sinister with just a subtle change in lighting. The occasional projected image or wash of shadow does the rest, sketching buildings and rooms with almost no physical scenery at all. It’s old-school stagecraft used with real restraint – and it works.
All of that lands because the performances are so masterful. Mackay and Burke hold the entire theatre in the palms of their hands, building worlds, tension and character with the smallest shifts in voice or stillness. It’s a reminder that when a story’s this strong, you don’t need spectacle – just two brilliant actors and the nerve to let the darkness breathe.
The Theatre Royal is an eerie gift for this show: those creaking balconies, the hush of the 218-year-old auditorium, the sense that something could easily be watching from the gods. It all adds to the unease. You know it’s theatre, but your nervous system doesn’t always get the memo.
One of the reasons The Woman in Black has endured for so long is that it trusts the audience. No over-elaborate sets, just classic storytelling, impeccable timing, clever staging and a slow, ghostly build that knows exactly when to tighten its grip. And yes, even if you know what’s coming, there are still moments that get you. You’ll know the ones.
If you’re after a pre-Christmas theatre night that’s properly gripping but doesn’t drown you in seasonal schmaltz, this revival delivers. It’s as chilling, elegant and unsettling as ever – the kind of show that sends you out into the Brighton night glancing over your shoulder, just in case.
Tuesday 18th November – Saturday 22nd November; various times; from £15
ATGtickets.com
Photo credits: Mark Douet
