2:00pm Friday 12th March 2010
By Barrie Hudson
THE Woman in Black has been chilling audiences at London’s Fortune Theatre since 1989.
And now the classic, spine-tingling play is coming to Swindon.
But the fictional spook could well find herself in the company of some real ghouls when the tour hits the Wyvern Theatre for five days from March 22.
If the experiences of some of the staff are to be believed, more than one unquiet soul roams the building’s chilly corridors and empty chambers in the dead of night.
From the Phantom of the Foyer to the Phantom of the Fly Floor – we’ll get to what a fly floor is later, I promise – there are seemingly parapsychological peculiarities galore.
The theatre may be a young one, having celebrated its 38th birthday last September, but the site, like much of land on which the modern town centre is built, was host to homes and businesses for more than a century beforehand.
And theatres, irrespective of age, seem to accumulate ghost stories faster than just about anywhere else.
Sian Walters, operations manager at the Wyvern, has worked at the Swindon venue for four years, having previously worked at the Oxford Playhouse and the Old Music Hall in Shrewsbury.
A sceptic when it comes to the supernatural, she is nevertheless steeped in the lore and tradition of theatre.
Her tenure in Swindon includes time spent at the Wyvern both before and after its closure for refurbishment following the asbestos scare a couple of years ago.
She said: “The closure hasn’t stopped the strange occurrences.
“There are lots of superstitions in the theatre world related to ghosts, such as the one about dolls.
“If you have a doll on stage, you’re supposed to make sure it’s face down, because if it’s facing upwards that means its eyes are open, and this might allow poltergeists to use it. Also, people in the theatre believe in leaving at least one light on, and they even call it the ghost light.”
According to Sian, there are two reasons for this: one is that a lightless theatre is ill-omened. Indeed, “going dark” is a theatrical term for a venue that is closing down, either temporarily or forever.
Another reason is that a ghost light is said to offer comfort and welcome to the spirits of any deceased actors who might have popped in for a visit.
But what of the Wyvern’s dead yet restless denizens?
Sian said: “A while ago in the foyer at the end of an evening, a member of staff was locking up.
“He turned the lights off and walked across the foyer, but then the lights came on again, one by one.
“He didn’t think anything of it at the time, but later a paranormal investigator who was visiting asked whether we had problems with the lights.
“She said a ghost told her his name was Jack, and that he haunted the foyer and front of house.”
Strange things have also been reported by people using the lift to the basement, such as the doors opening and closing for no particular reason, and draughts quite different from the normal stray gusts associated with such machines.
Another location sometimes associated with such phenomena is the fly floor – or in non-theatrical lingo, a platform used by technicians in charge of raising and lowering scenery.
There is a sliding door at one end of the platform, which is suspended about 20ft above the stage, and a conventional swinging door at the other end.
According to Sian, a technician was up there alone and was disconcerted to discover that each of the doors seemed to be found open whenever he turned his back and closed the other.
Of course, a draught can open a conventional door... but a sliding door is a different matter.
All of these spooks – if that is what they are – seem to be benevolent if a little mischievous at times. But it’s a different story upstairs in a meeting room called the Blue Room, where a number of staff have reported feeling uneasy at best and frightened at worst.
Sian said: “The paranormal investigator who visited told us she didn’t want to spend any time there. She said there was something in the room – a human spirit, but a very aggressive and nasty one.”
Tickets for The Woman in Black are £16 to £23, with concessions available. Call the box office on 01793 524481 or visit www.wyverntheatre.org.uk.
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