The Woman In Black Analysis

It only takes simple use of lighting, a fog machine, and a woman in black to terrify an audience. The Woman In Black has been frightening audiences in the West End for 25 years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. The story is written by Susan Hill and the play is written by Stephen Mallatratt. It tells the story of a lawyer who believes he is haunted by a curse in the form of the woman in black. He has written his story and presents it to an intrigued but sceptical actor. The actor agrees to perform the lawyer’s memories to help the aging man come to terms with his past. The play is perfectly paced. It begins slowly with enough background and character development to make the audience care for, and like the two men. Once the audience feels comfortable with the characters, the play takes a quick turn into an
The lighting is used perfectly both to help develop the story and build tension. The Director, Robin Herford, and Lighting Designer, Kevin Sleep, use the lighting to control what the audience sees. Herford and Sleep use the spotlight to expose the woman in black piece by piece. Revealing the whole monster takes out all the mystery and horror. Herford knows this and doesn’t fully reveal his monster until the time is right. That’s what makes this play one of the most terrifying nights audience members will ever experience. The use of fog also builds tension and anxiety throughout the audience. The fog blurs the audiences vision once again. As the fog expands across the audience, sitting in the stalls, they become blind to what’s happening around them. The fog is used to immerse the audience into the play. They are not just audience members, they are participants in the production. Thus, creating a real experience only escalating the terror among them. It isn’t only the set that delivers, but also Malcolm James’ brilliant