The Woman In Black Play Analysis

The Woman In Black is a famous ghost story written by Susan Hill, adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt and directed by Robin Herford. It was performed at the Royal and Derngate Northampton theatre on the 13th of November 2014. I had read the novel before seeing the theatre production of the tale, and therefore I already knew about the story. However, I had heard that the theatre production made use of only two actors, and as there are significantly more characters in the story than just two, I was intrigued and excited to see how this had been done. Herford had commissioned Mallatratt to write a Christmas show, but since he had a very limited budget, it being the end of the season, he told Mallatratt that he “can’t afford to have more than four actors or elaborate sets”. By making the audience feel as though the theatre was empty but for the two actors, Mallatratt eliminated the need for …show more content…
The theatre production boasts to be able to use only two actors to play all of these parts. Multi role-play was essential for this production, and each character needed to be emphasised to show that they are different from all the rest. The actor, who is played by Tom Godwin, is shown to be confident through his loud and clear voice, purposeful movements around the stage and the relaxed way he sits. In contrast, Arthur Kipps, played by Christopher Godwin, is remarkably less confident and this is shown by how he mumbles and stutters when he reads from his manuscript, how he doesn’t often look up to the actor, and how he fiddles with his glasses, constantly putting them on and then taking them off. He does not give off the same relaxed, purpose driven air that the actor does. However, as the story progresses, Kipps becomes more and more self-assured and by the end of the play he seems to be equal with the actor, no longer mumbling or avoiding eye