Review: Teatro Live! The Woman in Black at the Varscona Theatre

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In a messy early 20th-century London playhouse, Arthur Kipps is trying his best to deliver his lines with conviction. He’s hired an actor to help him tell his story, though he’s failing at the acting part.

The actor (who has no name of his own in this show) will take on the part of Arthur in this story, while Arthur will play the supporting roles: the clerk at the solicitor’s office, the helpful small-town lawyer, the cab driver. They are re-enacting an incident from Arthur’s past, one that has … haunted the main protagonist for years, one he wants to finally put out into the world.

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Arthur has been sent to the far end of the country, off to Eel Marsh House, in order to settle up the affairs of Alice Drablow. He arrives just in time for Mrs. Drablow’s funeral, where he first sees the Woman in Black.

Eel Marsh House is only accessible at low tide, when a small road between the old wind-swept house and the mainland is uncovered. Arthur again sees the Woman in Black, this time as he explores the small graveyard outside the manor home.

The rest of this horror story should be fairly obvious, a young man in an old, drab, unfamiliar mansion that’s inaccessible and also haunted. It’s not exactly a novel setup, but they do amazing things with a straightforward premise.

We start with laughs, the actor haranguing Arthur on his horrible delivery that could put an audience to sleep. The tension ratchets up slowly, the lighthearted London playhouse giving way to an incredibly bleak and drab manor house.

But we slowly forget about the play within a play and instead find ourselves on the edge of our seats as Arthur explores the old house, coming face to face with the nightmare that is Eel Marsh House and the Woman in Black.

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What is so stunning is how they manage to pull off convincing jump scares in front of a live theatre audience. A curtain blocks off the back half of the stage, what’s happening back there only visible when a light is shone through from the back.

It helps to create so many instances where, from seemingly nowhere, the woman appears, frightening audiences and drawing gasps and screams from unexpected appearances.

Geoffrey Simon Brown slips back and forth with ease between a cockney accent, which he uses for the actor, and his more posh linguistic leanings, when he’s switched into the young Arthur. It’s amazing that he can maintain two personas, switching convincingly and at will.

Julien Arnold as the older Arthur and all of the supporting roles is just as incredible, slowly sliding into his own acting abilities and helping to put on an incredibly convincing retelling of his own ghost story.

Teatro Live! has created a truly terrifying theatrical experience with The Woman in Black. It’s hard to imagine a scarier or more thrilling show to accompany the dark time of year, one where light and dark play such an important role and where a good scare can come so easily.

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The Woman in Black

Playwright: Stephen Mallatrat

Director: Andrew Ritchie

Featuring: Julie Arnold and Geoffrey Simon Brown

Where: The Varscona Theatre, 10329 83 Ave.

When: Until Oct. 27

Tickets: From $42 at teatrolive.com

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