Review: The Rep Gets Supernatural with THE WOMAN IN BLACK

There’s a lot of bone-chilling suspense happening in The Woman In Black, the latest production in the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ current season.

A smash in London’s West End for three decades, this altogether ooky show is filled with tense drama, buried secrets, and supernatural shenanigans. Produced by the original team that brought England’s second-longest-running theatrical production to life, the show plays on all the tropes of a great thriller, death, guilt, justice, revenge, and screaming in the night.

Adapted from Dame Susan Hill’s book, The Woman In Black is the scariest thing to come to The Rep in a long time. Throwing the rational world aside, the show’s mix of the eerie and the ethereal causes audience members to cringe and jolt in terror.

This gripping tale is told as a layered story within a story, as Arthur Kipps, an aging solicitor seeking to confront his own demons, enlists the aid of a young actor to tell a mystical story that haunts him.

Hoping that reliving his memories as a play will be a cathartic way to recover from the ordeals that haunt him, he employs the actor to act out the events that have tormented him. As for the actor, he is keen for work but quickly frustrated by Kipps' complete lack of talent as a performer. By getting him to relax and rely on his emotions and experiences, the lawyer can describe the horrifying circumstances that have brought him there.

As they take to the stage for a rehearsal, the grim circumstances of Kipps’ past are unveiled to the audience. A few years prior, the solicitor was dispatched to the quaint village of Crythin Gifford to settle the estate of Mrs. Drablow, a sequestered woman who has recently passed away.

Her mansion, Eel Marsh House, has become the center of local legend for decades because of the mysterious and spooky events observed there. Mysterious deaths, things moving in the night, loud noises, and the image of a mysterious woman in black have become ingrained in village folklore.

Deciding to declutter the house and find the documents he requires, Kipps chooses tp stay at the mansion in order to finish faster. Initially skeptical of the preternatural tales around the residence, he succumbs to the belief that it is haunted after he experiences strange sights, unearthly sounds, and the appearance of a woman clad entirely in black.

Seeking counsel, Kipps becomes frustrated when he gets no information on the events surrounding Eel Marsh House from the locals. Finally, Kipps learns that the woman is the spirit of Jennet Humfrye, a grief-stricken woman whose child drowned in the local marshes.

Determined to know more, Kipps unearths a series of tragic and dreadful events whose memories continue to traumatize the townsfolk. However, as he and, eventually, the actor he hires, learn, his discoveries have chilling repercussions.

Adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallartatt, The Woman In Black relies on the power of storytelling to frame the eerie happenings on stage. Combined with terrific lighting and sound effects, it’s a gripping yarn that is guaranteed to jolt audiences in their seats.

Crossing the Atlantic to reach The Rep stage, director Robin Herford’s spine-tingling drama is perhaps the scariest production ever presented by the company. The production is guided by London stage vets Ben Porter (Kipps) and James Byng (the actor). Some of The Rep’s performances will feature another veteran, David Acton, as both the actor and Kipps since the cast rotates.

On the night of this review, the two-hander featured Porter and Byng as the actor and Kipps. Both gave fantastic performances, especially Porter, who took on several smaller roles in addition to playing the worried  Kipps. Byng’s youthful exuberance was a nice balance to Porter, who brought vulnerability to the role of Kipps.

Blurring lines between the real and unearthly, The Woman In Black uses themes of isolation, grief, loss, pain, emotional repression, and social class disparities to underscore the idea that behind any great paranormal story is an exploration of the human condition.