Nothing is as striking
as ‘Woman in Black’

FORT WORTH — Of all the horror stories that have appeared on stage — and for that matter, on film — recently, none has kept audience members on the edge of their seats quite like The Woman In Black.

Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from Susan Hill’s book, the play opens Circle Theatre’s 19th season. The script is vigorous and would be tough to pull off without actors with the necessary chemistry.

This production has chemistry and more.

John Wayne Shafer plays Arthur Kipps, a man who wants to exorcise a ghostly experience from his past. He hires an unnamed actor (Ashley Wood) to help him replay the scenario for family and friends.

The setting is a small British theater. The Actor portrays Kipps, while Kipps plays various other charactcrs and the Narrator. What’s not explained is, how Kipps, who begins the play as an acting novice with stage fright, is suddenly transformed into an adept thespian, or, as the Actor calls it, an "Irving”.

But there are many mysteries to unravel, here. We soon learn that the story involves a trip taken by Kipps after being summoned to manage the estate of the deceased Alice Drablow. In an eerie house surrounded by bogs, he discovers more than he bargained for. Those secrets won’t be revealed here, but suffice it to say, the suspense - aided by John Leach’s effective Lighting design - makes it all worthwhile.

Both Shafer and Wood give extraordinary performances, but Shafer gets to show off with his characterizations, especially his turn as a curmudgeonly horse-carriage driver.

****1/2

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