The Woman in Black by Stephen Mallatrant - 2m, 1 flexible
The framework of this spine tingler is unusual: a lawyer hires an actor to tutor him in recounting to family and friends a story that has long troubled him concerning events that transpired when he attended the funeral of an elderly recluse. There he caught sight of the woman in black, the mere mention of whom terrifies the locals, for she is a specter who haunts the neighborhood where her illegitimate child was accidentally killed. Anyone who sees her dies! The lawyer has invited some friends to watch as he and the actor recreate the events of that dark and stormy night. A classic of the genre.
Labels: adaptation, classic, mystery, small cast
posted by Larisa at 3:08 PM
5 Comments:
It's creepy alright! I think the arena would work effectively for the staging. Sound effects will be intriguing and there are minimal, creative use of props. The cast is small and would they have their work cut out for them. I say yes.
This is essentially a two-person cast plus the silent "woman". Both men play all the roles. Set and props are minimal. Without an imaginative director with excellent light and sound design, it could be a disaster. It's a possible for me.
I have seen a number of productions of this and think it could work in the arena with all the voms etc. for her to appear from. But it will take an excellent tech crew to pull it off.
This was a suggestion from our TD, who is excited about the tech possibilities. It think it would be SUPER interesting and creepy in the round. Agreed that I wish the adaptation was a little more thoughtful with the two men, but this is RIPE for creative directing. So many ideas come to my mind when I read this as a director.
I enjoyed re-reading this one. I saw it in London years ago. And everyone I have talked to who has seen a successful production of this play raves about it. From that perspective I could absolutely support doing it. However, what holds me back is the cast size. I find it hard to justify doing a play with only two actors. We have been looking at a number of scripts with small casts, so I believe we need to be ever mindful of providing good opportunities for more actors.
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