The Woman In Black

[mcmanusrules]

I need to know, has anyone here seen the play
The Woman In Black?

[davis_greatest]

Yes, I have. A few years ago. Why?

[mcmanusrules]

Im doing drama course work on it, could I post what i have written, an you tell me what you think of it?

[davis_greatest]

Sure. Do please bear in mind though that it was quite a few years back that I saw it, so my memories of it may not be too vivid.

[mcmanusrules]

This is it so far. ( I have about 1100 more words to write lol)

Overview-
Situated in London's west end, The Fortune Theater played host to the spine-chilling play that is, The Woman In Black. From a thrilling novel written by Susan Hill, Stephen Mallatratt adapted it into an incredible stage play that is both haunting and frightful all in just an hour and forty minutes.
Situated in the upper circle, we had a clear view of the stage without being bothered about the people below, which was very helpful as everyone in the Theater had a perfectly clear view of the stage. The Theater itself was an exceptional choice as it has a scary aura about it, being a tight fit in which no more than 700 people could fit, and very high yet thin, it was eerie even at the funniest of times in the play.
The plot is a simple one from the book, but made slightly more complex in Mallatratt's adaptation, the play tells the story of a lawyer named Arthur Kipps, who years before had been sent to Crythin Gifford a small market town, on England's east coast- his purpose there was to attend the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow an elderly lady, who lived alone in Eel Marsh House.
The house, on the Nine Lives causeway is completely cut off from the mainland with only the surrounding marshes for company. Kipps soon realises there is more to Mrs. Drablow than he first expected. At the funeral he spots a woman dressed totally in black and with a pale, wasted face. Over the coming days, while sorting through Mrs Drablow's papers at Eel Marsh House, he endures an increasingly terrifying series of inexplicable noises, strange events and hauntings by the “Woman in Black”. However an extra piece is added to the play in which an elderly Kipps enlists the help of a young actor, to help him tell the stories of his horror. The actor plays the part of the young Kipps, as the play progresses it is seen that history may tragically repeat itself. The play is a stage rehearsal inside the theatre where the play is staged, the consistent, unexpected, brief appearances to the audience[and The Actor] of the “Woman in Black”, which at the end are revealed to have only appeared to the actor, and not Kipps himself, give an even darker twist.
To describe the performance in a word, I would have to say “Outstanding”, the play was nothing short of amazing, it gripped the viewer from beginning to end and scared even the most macho of men half to death. Five Star!

Theatre-
The Theatre was somewhat small, seating a very limited number of people, seemed like a disappointment at first, but as the show progressed, it seemed like the ideal venue for such a play, this Theater gave a very intimate view of the show in which although a large distance above the actors we seemed not very far away at all. The traditional proscenium arch was used, but there was a 2 part stage.

Themes-
The play explores many themes including those of death, the supernatural, family problems and mystery. Combined this made for an excellent storyline, which created a majestic piece of theatre. Every theme was linked in very nicely by the uncertainty of what would happen next, as we discovered that The Woman, was in fact Mrs. Drablow's sister from there we went on to learn a brief history of the Drablow family, which then gave the story another chilling twist.
The most effective theme used was that of mystery, as The Woman In Black, would randomly appear out of nowhere, and the audience not have faintest idea who she was or what she was doing there. The fear factor was also in immensely well used part. I don't think I will ever forget, sitting watching the play, hearing almost every girl in the auditorium scream with horror, seeing every boy clutch they're heart to stop it pounding so rapidly and seeing almost every girl cling to the nearest male, what was meant to be frightfully scary, almost became almost a pantomime act, but not quite so it retained all its integrity as a horror play.

Lighting-
The lighting of the play at first didn't seem as complex and exciting as I had once expected, but the techniques they used were immaculate, Kevin Sleep, the lighting director, deserved a large round-of-applause for his magnificent work. The only times throughout the play when full lighting was used, was when the re-enactment was not taking place, which was clever as at gave the impression of being inside an old theatre.
The low lighting technique was very good indeed, as every time the woman is to appear the lighting goes down so we are able to see her, this worked particularly well when we saw her at the top of the staircase in one of the most frightful moments of the play, as there was dim lighting all around, just a little light on The Actor, which helped shine the smallest amount on to The Woman.

Music and Sound effects-
I don't really remember too much about the sound effects for the play, but I do remember that in general they were all used very nicely. The predominant ones were the sounds of the Woman In Blacks walking around the house, and the unforgettable high pitched scream which would be blasted out every time she appeared, a haunting noise with is actually going through my head while writing this.
Other sound effects used were those of Mr. Keckwick's horse and cart, and the constant chattering of people in the market, just before Mrs. Drablow's funeral takes place.

Costumes-
The costumes help give an idea of when the play is set, I would say it is early twentieth century, this also helped to match the theatres bleak surroundings and also to tie in with when ghost stories where in fact quite popular in the UK.
The many costume changes of the play are done magnificently well, as Kipps generally has to improvise his costume change on the spot it seems, this is done particularly well when he changes into the “uniform” of Keckwick when the talk of how to get the horse and cart arises.
The best costume design has to be that of the title character, The Woman In Black. This is simply because it is such a simple design of just head to toe(quite literally) blackness. Everything about her costume is black, and it is designed in such a way that it does actually represent death and horror in the play.

Props in the play-
The primary prop was in fact a basic wicker chest. This basic chest was transformed into anything and everything needed in the play, from an office seat, to a bed, to a cart for a horse, to the impossible, it was eventually used, as a wicker chest, although given every other use of it, you wouldn't have guessed.
Although the prominent on-stage prop, it was not the only one, there was also an invisible dog, immaculately done. The scenes in which the dog is used, the acting is nothing short of astounding. When The Actor is leading the dog around the set, and Keckwick arrives he even knows the exact position of the dog, and take the scene into new boundaries of improvisational acting. Simply Outstanding.





more to follow as I said...

[davis_greatest]

This is it so far. ( I have about 1100 more words to write lol)

Overview-
Situated in London's west end, The Fortune Theater

I've only read the first few words so far, but I imagine that it's The Fortune Theatre, unless you saw it in New York's West End.

[hegeland]

I vaguely remember seeing a film that had the words "Woman" and "Black" in the title, but since it was not suitable for people under 18 years of age, I'm not sure whether I can write a review of it here or not. PM me if you want it.


Otherwise I can give you a review of Man In Black if you like.

[davis_greatest]

No major comments. Just a few observations:

Focus on the play and not on what you were doing. Early on, you say where you were sitting. I (the reader) don't care where you happened to be sitting that day (no offence). By all means, say, if it is true, that all seats in the theatre offer a splendid view of the stage.

I have never heard a theatre described as "thin" before. Narrow?

The plot is a simple one from the book, but made slightly more complex in Mallatratt's adaptation, the play tells the story of a lawyer named Arthur Kipps, who years before had been sent to Crythin Gifford a small market town, on England's east coast- his purpose there was to attend the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow an elderly lady, who lived alone in Eel Marsh House.

Break this long sentence up. Also, I don't think that the name of the town or its exact location are relevant (nor necessarily the name of the elderly lady).

The house, on the Nine Lives causeway is completely cut off from the mainland with only the surrounding marshes for company.

Irrelevant. And boring. (Again, no offence. I just mean the reader does not need to know this in reading a review.)

To describe the performance in a word, I would have to say “Outstanding”, the play was nothing short of amazing, it gripped the viewer from beginning to end and scared even the most macho of men half to death. Five Star!

Viewers watch films; audiences attend the theatre. Use full stops for new sentences, rather than commas.

Theatre-
The Theatre was somewhat small, seating a very limited number of people, seemed like a disappointment at first, but as the show progressed, it seemed like the ideal venue for such a play, this Theater gave a very intimate view of the show in which although a large distance above the actors we seemed not very far away at all. The traditional proscenium arch was used, but there was a 2 part stage.

Talk about the theatre in one place. If you will refer to it here, then there is no need to do so at the beginning.

The fear factor was also in immensely well used part.

?

I don't think I will ever forget, sitting watching the play, hearing almost every girl in the auditorium scream with horror, seeing every boy clutch they're heart

They're? You mean "his"?

I don't really remember too much about the sound effects for the play,

I don't want to read a review to find out that you can't remember what you are supposed to be talking about. Say what you can remember. Don't tell me what you can't.

The costumes help give an idea of when the play is set, I would say it is early twentieth century,

Is it early 20th century or isn't it? Find out.

this also helped to match the theatres bleak surroundings and also to tie in with when ghost stories where in fact quite popular in the UK.

"theatre's". "were"

[davis_greatest]

PS These are all suggestions of course, of the points I think might be improved. Isn't meant to sound critical, as it might appear!