THE WOMAN IN BLACK to Open at Open Book Theatre Company

Open Book Theatre Company will present Stephen Mallatratt's acclaimed stage adaptation of Susan Hill's ghost story, The Woman in Black. Running from October 30 through November 22, 2026, the psychological thriller offers audiences the ultimate atmospheric autumn outing-just in time for Halloween and Friday the 13th.

The story centers on Arthur Kipps, a man haunted by a dark memory he can no longer bear in silence. To free himself from his past, he enlists a young actor to help him restage his experience at the isolated Eel Marsh House. As the two men work together in an empty theatre, the line between reality and memory blurs, transporting the audience into a world of creeping sea mists, mortal dread, and a mysterious silent specter.

The Woman in Black was originally presented in 2025 by The Penny Seats Theatre Company and is now being remounted for the Open Book stage. Bringing this ghostly tale to life is the powerhouse creative duo of director Josie Eli Herman and actor Michael Alan Herman, who plays the role of the "Actor" (portraying multiple characters throughout the story).

The husband-and-wife creative team behind Acorn Arts & Entertainment are well-established experts in the realm of eerie, atmospheric storytelling. Together, they wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning cosmic horror fiction podcast The Call of the Void, as well as the audio drama Liminal. On screen, their gothic horror film House of Ka, an adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic 1903 mummy novel The Jewel of the Seven Stars, delivers vintage supernatural suspense and is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

The Woman in Black stars Jeffrey Miller as Arthur Kipps, Michael Alan Herman as the Actor, and Princess Beyonce Jones as the mysterious Woman.  Nearly the entire creative team from the original 2025 production has reunited for the remount, joined by OBTC Resident Lighting Director Harley Miah, who 'brings the spooky to this story with his award winnig gift of using light and color to set the mood,' shared Schafer.