Lifting the curtain on a tale of horror well told

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

- BY ANDY PHILLIPS

A BROODING old house on an island cut off by the tide, and often swathed in sea mist; a death which means a funeral, and a lone overnight stay; local residents who clam up at the first mention of the inhabitants.

The Woman in Black has all the ingredients of a good ghost story, and yet Susan Hill's gothic novel became a classic because it evoked something more, something which could not be seen or heard, but was feared. It was a drawing back of the curtain, you might say.

It is all these elements, and more, which have seen the chilling tale become one of the most successful and longest-running theatre shows in the history of the West End.

A study in stagecraft, The Woman in Black is a lesson in adapting horror to the stage. It is finding a locked door in an abandoned house, with no keyhole or bolt on the outside, and then seeing that door open suddenly.