The Woman In Black

It takes a fine Director and some excellent actors to make a community theatre production of this somewhat dated classic ghost story work in theatrical terms. Fortunately The Basin Theatre Group has both in this terrific show. Put simply, solicitor Kipps wants to perform for his friends and family his story of an encounter with a ghost, the terrifying spectre of the title. He hires an actor to help him and that actor becomes him, while Kipps himself plays all the other roles in the story, apart from the ghost herself.

Justin Stephens has made the play fresh and exciting in every area. He co-designed the excellent set with Gerald Overton and could well give lessons to some of the well known set designers in main stage theatre. Ostensibly the basement of an old theatre, it’s bursting with atmosphere, full of creaky old machinery, theatre skips, dark nooks and crannies and various working areas. Stephens also designed the impressive audio-visual content and has incorporated Steampunk effects through the old machinery. Couple all this with a stunning soundscape that includes some chilling sound effects, and a wonderful lighting plot by Peter Dalwood, and you begin to understand just how impressive this production is. It is hard to imagine it being bettered anywhere. And that’s before we even get to the actors.

Chris McLean as The Actor, and Kieran Tracey as Kipps both give flawless performances. It would be churlish to single one out over the other. Totally convincing in all respects, both these gifted actors would be quite at home in any professional production anywhere. McLean’s ability to transform himself convincingly into any number of characters is matched by Tracey’s consistency of character throughout, and his understanding of the journey that Kipps has made. Stephens’ blocking, with appropriate sound effects, gives a great sense of movement and space in the limited  stage area. And then there’s the woman herself – uncredited but an eerie presence throughout. There are some genuinely tense and scary moments with the ghost, but overall it’s the quality of the entire production that makes this a must see for any theatre lover.

Coral Drouyn