A Terrifying Ghost Story

The Woman in Black–at the Royal George Theatre

A Terrifying Ghost Story

Onto a nearly empty stage walks Arthur Kipps, an elderly English gentleman, holding a bound script in his shaking hands. Clearly he’s uncomfortable being in the spotlight and, especially, reading aloud to an audience. His recitation is less than riveting. Suddenly another voice cuts through the semidarkness of the “stalls,” the audience area of the theatre. It’s The Actor, who is serving as the director for an upcoming presentation, aimed at a specific audience, but primarily to serve as a catharsis for Mr. Kipps. He attempts to coach the novice thespian and offer suggestions for a more engaging recitation. While the Actor is trying to help Kipps make his delivery more interesting, an almost seamless role reversal takes place. The Actor becomes a younger Arthur Kipps and the story begins to play out in real time. Slowly, with tension continually building between short bursts of horror, this terrifying ghost story begins to unfold before our eyes.

In 1987, British screenwriter and playwright, Stephen Mallatratt, adapted Susan Hill’s Gothic ghost story for the stage. Previously known for his television series “Coronation Street” and “The Forsyte Saga, Mallatratt’s theatrical work has been playing to full houses in the West End since 1989, making it the second longest running nonmusical play in London’s history. This dramatic treatment of Hill’s novel is especially notable in that it casts only two actors to play all of the roles.

Robin Herford, the talented director of this play, is the man responsible for originally commissioning Mallatratt to adapt Hill’s novel for the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where he was Artistic Director. The play became such a phenomenal success that it eventually transferred to the West End, where it’s been entertaining audiences now for almost 30 years.

Our Chicago production is noteworthy for several reasons. The first, and foremost, is that Windy City audiences can, at last, enjoy this chilling, spine-tingling ghost story without the expense of traveling across the Atlantic. And this is an entirely first-rate and highly respectable production, directed with creativity and the perfect pacing by Robin Herford. The show features the topnotch design work of Michael Holt and, especially, Kevin Sleep’s great lighting design and a fantastic sound design by Rod Mead and Gareth Owen. Local associate set and lighting designer, Anshuman Bhatia, sound designer, Ray Nardelli, and costume designer, kClare McKellaston need to be acknowledged, as well, for their artistic contributions to this Chicago production.

The second reason is that this Chicago production stars two superior performers in very challenging roles. Veteran actor Bradley Armacost plays the present-day Arthur Kipps. Having worked in TV, film, voiceover and on stage, Mr. Armacost has been seen in every major house in Chicago, as well as several national theaters. Here he creates a man haunted by a secret, a mystery which is gradually revealed to the audience. Theatergoers slowly come to understand why this character’s reluctant to delve into experiences from his past. In reopening this incident, Kipps fears to even speak his own words, for fear of awakening the nightmare that he’d tried to bury so long ago. But, by publicly presenting his story, Kipps hopes to exorcise the spirits that haunt his past. In this role, Mr. Armacost is brilliant; but his skill as a gifted actor becomes even more apparent as he transforms into a series of other minor characters, sometimes turning on a dime. The actor also returns as the older Mr. Kipps, every so often, serving as the narrator of the story. Armacost seamlessly morphs into a local landowner named Samuel Daily. He then becomes Horatio Jerome, another local gentleman, who’s had firsthand experience with the scary, supernatural and now-deceased Mrs. Drablow. He also plays Keckwick, a simple, genial country man who provides Kipps with transportation to and from the haunted Eel House. With a few simple costume changes, Mr. Armacost convincingly and effectively shifts gears.

Adam Wesley Brown, a familiar face at Chicago Shakespeare and Paramount Theatres, is equally brilliant as The Actor. From his initial and recurring appearance as the director of this narrative, to his complete metamorphosis into the role of an earlier Arthur Kipps, Brown is excellent. He creates a pleasant, eager young English solicitor, determined to complete his work going through the effects of the reclusive Mrs. Drablow, following her funeral. As his credulity becomes stretched to the limits and he grows to realize that what he sees and hears at Eel House can’t be disputed, Kipps becomes a pawn in this tale of terror. As Brown slowly tumbles down this rabbit hole of horror, theatergoers find themselves joining him in his descent.  

And, of course, the third reason that this production is so significant is because it has revitalized and brought light to the long-darkened stage of the Royal George Theatre. Long known as one of Chicago’s finest venues for plays and musicals, it’s stage is once again the home to a beautifully written, superbly acted and professionally produced play. The theatre is once more selling out and seats are being filled with eagerly awaiting theatergoers. Audiences are finding themselves lost in the foggy, supernatural world of eerie apparitions and things that go bump in the night. Theatergoers searching for something completely different for their holiday entertainment and beyond, should look no further than this delightful, surprising and totally captivating melodrama. All of this, thanks to a frightening, shadowy specter, the mysterious, ghostly Lady in Black.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas              

Presented November 15-February 17 by PW Productions and Pemberley Productions at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted, Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 312-988-9000 or by going to www.ticketmaster.com or www.theroyalgeorgetheatre.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.