REVIEW: The Woman In Black (From Swindon Advertiser)

REVIEW: The Woman In Black

9:24am Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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THOSE who dare to go along and watch The Woman In Black at the Wyvern Theatre need to be prepared for a chilling experience...in more ways than one.

As the temperature in the London auditorium dropped, I could already feel myself getting on edge.

If you have read the book by Susan Hill, already seen the play or know someone who has seen it, you know to expect the unexpected.

And for those who will be seeing it for the first time in Swindon, well, all I can say is you’re in for a treat. Revealing anything more would spoil the show.

This play has been thrilling (and scaring the life out of) audiences in the West End for 21 years - and they have it down to a fine art.

The tension is built up throughout, so when it is released the effect is impressive, before it is quickly built back up again, putting you on the edge of your seat.

Everything adds to the atmosphere and heightens the senses - from the cool temperatures to the lighting, from the incredibly clever set to the twists and turns that happen throughout.

We were watching a matinee performance with several groups of school children (it is a text studied at GCSE).

While there were moments when they were slightly more excitable and chatty than you’d like from fellow theatregoers they added to the sense of foreboding as they were making each other more highly strung and screamed at almost anything, which made the rest of us even more jumpy.

If you haven’t got tickets yet to go and see the show when the tour comes to Swindon next week make sure you don’t miss out. Especially if you like good, old-fashioned ghost stories.