Patrick Kelley and James Driscoll (and Tifany Simosky) in The Woman in Black
As I drove through the waning dusk of a scorching hot fall evening, I wondered what was in store with the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre’s production of The Woman in Black, directed and designed by Dana Skiles. Turns out, a frighteningly good time. With a wealth of talent on stage and off, this production is not one to miss for fans of horror or damn good theatre.
Written by Stephen Mallatratt, the play begins in a theatre. The audience is there, though unseen by the actors. There’s a bare stage littered with trunks, chairs, and cubes. As the lights rise, the story starts with a man rattling through a description of a building around Christmas time. It is incomprehensible. Someone then rises from the seats and chastises him for telling his tale with such little craft. The man speaking is Arthur Kipps (Patrick Kelley), and he has hired the unnamed actor (James Driscoll) to help him stage the events of his life. Arthur is a solicitor, and many years ago, he was tasked with closing the state of a recently deceased woman. What started as routine paperwork quickly descended into horror and tragedy, and Arthur now hopes that by writing and performing his memoir, he can exorcise the ghosts of his mind.
Mallatratt's first twist happens almost immediately, with the actor assuming the role of the author, whereas the author assumes the role of narrator and plays every role in the ensemble cast. So now there’s a play nested within a play, and we see these two men stage the events of the haunting at Eel Marsh House. The lights subtly shift to indicate location, be it rehearsal or performance, with both the actor and author dropping and assuming characters in the middle of scenes. The distinction between real and imagination is made even clearer by the use of cleverly designed soundscapes. Early on, the actor advises the author that the audience should use their imagination, and he should not be concerned with whether there’s an actual horse and buggy on stage. It might sound like this could quickly get confusing, and in lesser hands it probably would. But Skiles' production is a master class in storytelling.
Indeed, there were a few times throughout Saturday’s performance in which I had to mask my face with my program because I was smiling ear to ear and that was decidedly not the appropriate response to the horrific onstage happenings. But I couldn’t help myself. The theatrical craft on display here is just that good.
To start, the two men of the cast are immense talents. Kelley is new to me, but delivers a captivating performance and seamlessly shifts between the many characters of the remote English town, offering a different inflection of accent or body language for each. Meanwhile, Driscoll is an actor whom I could watch if he were reading the phone book (and if we still had phone books). His razor-sharp performance is gripping and allows the space for audience members to join him in imagining his surroundings. I won’t spoil any of the narrative beats that unfold, but will applaud both actors for increasing the stakes and energy throughout the evening so that by a certain point, in a fog-filled stage, I caught myself actually holding my breath.
Skiles deserves kudos for her use of the stage and ingenious theatrical effects throughout. I dare not spoil most of the trickery and devices employed, but I will highlight one effect that I think perfectly encapsulates the attention to detail paid by both Skiles and her actors. After failing to stick it out in the haunted house for a night by himself, the actor goes into town to recruit company. Not a soul will join him in the obviously haunted abode, so someone decides to lend him their dog Spider. Cue the sound of dog nails clacking across hard wood floor as Driscoll stoops to scratch the imaginary hound behind the ears. Then, for the rest of the evening, through whatever exit the dog comes or goes, the click clacks of those nails plays through whatever speaker is closest, allowing the audience to follow the movement of the dog with just their ears. It’s simply but absurdly effective.
There’s only one thing I can complain about and it’s my own fault, as I picked a seat that obscured some dramatic beats and special effects in the second act. Richmond Hill’s shows are most often performed in the round, so there’s no such thing as a perfect seat, and I saw many things during Saturday’s performance that were breathtaking, and that I would've missed had I been in any other seat. But I do wish I sat elsewhere. (For those of you who attend after reading this review, all I ask is that, for maximum spookiness, you avoid the back few rows of the southern wall.)
I really cannot commend this production and the team behind it enough. It accomplished what so few advertised “thrillers” manage to do – it honestly thrilled me. At several points throughout the evening, I sat up straight in my seat, captivated by the art at hand. Fans of horror and fans of theatre should not miss this haunting jaunt through the marsh.
The Woman in Black runs at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre (600 Robinson Drive, Geneseo IL) October 2 through October 12, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309) 944-2244 and visiting RHPlayers.com.
