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To Frighten Delightfully

“Ghost stories… tell us about things that lie hidden within all of us, and which lurk outside all around us. They show human beings in the grip of the extremes of powerful emotions, at key moments and turning points in their lives. They also frighten delightfully, give shape, form and substance to our darkest and most primitive and child-like fears and imaginings, and, perhaps most importantly of all, they entertain.”
Susan Hill, introduction to Ghost Stories

The Woman in Black has been phenomenally successful, both as a novel and as a play. Susan
Hill’s book has been translated into several languages, while Stephen Mallatratt’s stage
adaptation has been enjoying a successful run in London’s West End for almost twenty years. Over four million people have seen the play, and many of them return to see it again and again.  What is the secret of its success?

Storytelling lies at the heart of The Woman in Black and storytelling is at the core of our human experience.  It is how we connect with our fellow human beings, how we communicate our beliefs, how we inform new generations about our past, how we pass on knowledge and how we entertain each other.  However, the most important and valuable aspect about storytelling is that it cannot be done alone.  It requires us to connect with each other.  It could be as simple as a children’s bedtime story connecting a child with a loved one or a world community coming together to hear a story of hope and possibility, told by the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas.

What thrills me most about this play is the wonderful blend of mystery and magic.  The mystery comes from the story.  It begins simply, with a young lawyer arriving in a small town to clear up the estate of a recently deceased client.  In the town he finds terrified inhabitants, bleak marshes, a causeway that is submerged at high tide, sudden and impenetrable sea mists, an isolated gothic mansion, and a tale of pain and loss that will haunt him for the rest of his life.  These elements by themselves are enough to excite and entertain, as is proved by the success of the original novel.  However, when you mix them with a special kind of magic, you produce something truly original. That magic is provided by the shared experience of  live theater.  The power of theater comes from the infinite variety and depth of our imagination.  This play is unashamedly theatrical; to begin with, it is set in an empty theater.  The stage is bare except for a few chairs, a trunk and a door.  The power of this story is the way it stirs the imagination of its audience as they share in the “communal séance” we call drama. 

Our final ingredient is the age-old connection between theater and the supernatural.  In fact, the Fortune Theatre in London, where The Woman in Black has run since 1989, is reputed to be haunted by a ghost.  She has been witnessed in the wings by numerous cast members, watching in silence.  Susan Hill states that her inspiration to write was an attempt to reinvent the ghost story.  She also wanted to address the questions: what frightens us;  why does this frighten us;  who is being frightened; and, can you learn something from how frightened you have been?  Some of us like to address these questions.  And as we drive home, we debate the meanings of the experience we have shared.  Some of us just like a good night out, with perhaps a surprise or two thrown in.  To quote the author Roy Harley Lewis in his book, Theatre Ghosts:

“Theatre, we know, is larger than life – a place where imagination is nurtured and stretched, and where superstition abounds. This receptive atmosphere,coupled with that element of ‘magic’, opens a door to the past – to a storehouse of memories . . . and to the spirit world.”

Thank you for joining your neighbors and friends in the theater, and I hope you enjoy the show.
- Vince Brady