For a self-professed ghost story, The Woman in Black starts with something unexpected: jokes. For nearly the first 10 minutes, the play is legitimately funny and lighthearted, with little to suggest that it will ever become spooky or suspenseful, let alone haunting.
But rest assured, The Woman in Black — written by Stephen Mallatratt based on the 1983 book by Susan Hill — does eventually become ghostly, and the Keegan Theatre’s “back by popular demand” production, now playing through November 17, is thoroughly haunting in its best moments.
This is, of course, a ghost story, so Kipps’ trip [to Eel Marsh Hourse] naturally leads to a series of hauntings — told through a series of set pieces — that leave him increasingly worse for wear. Each of these set pieces feels genuinely spooky as the mood shifts and tension fills the air, with increasing effect. There are few jump scares, but there are long periods when you wait with bated breath for one that may or may not come.
The production design carries much of the weight in these set pieces, not from any fault of [actors] Leembruggen or Mutterperl — both handle what can be verbose dialogue and depict fear well — but because the “story” part of this ghost story is mostly just exposition, while the “ghost” sections are where the play really shines. And it is the design that is so effective at creating a hair-raising atmosphere in this intimate theater.
Brandon Cook’s soundscapes are deep and layered, complete with an undercurrent of low tones that makes everything feel a little off balance. Sage Green’s lighting design is equally eerie, with dramatic light beams and incredibly dark shadows that anything could pop out of. And Sticklin’s scenic design, together with Paris Francesca’s costuming, blends a few turn-of-the-century eras to create The Woman in Black’s olden aesthetic.
Ghost stories work because they play to the part of the brain that doesn’t deal in reason. Instead, they pick at fear and imagination. The Woman in Black at Keegan Theatre does that remarkably well.
