What’s On: The Woman in Black (PW Productions, Woodward Productions & Neil Gooding Productions)

The Woman in Black

30 April – 11 May

Playhouse Theatre, QPAC, South Bank

Susan Hill’s acclaimed ghost story The Woman in Black comes dramatically alive in Stephen Mallatratt’s stage adaptation, promising to be a terrifying live theatre experience and a brilliantly successful study in atmosphere, illusion and controlled horror. The Woman In Black is the second longest-running play in West End history, after Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, and this Australian production will tour to Toowoomba, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, Wollongong and Newcastle from April to July.

Written in 1983, Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black has become one of the most successful gothic novels in the English canon. A perfect example of horror and gothic writing, readers are transported to the eerie setting of Eel Marsh House in the small market town of Crythin Gifford in the north of England. The story is told through the first-person narration of Arthur Kipps, who begins the novel too distressed to share a ghost story with his family, and then recounts how as a young solicitor he was sent to oversee the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, a client of his law firm. Along the way he encounters many who seem unwilling or unable to share the secrets of Eel Marsh House and its inhabitants, until he himself encounters the Woman in Black, and begins to unravel the mystery of the haunted past and eerie spectre he sees.

The Woman in Black will star two acclaimed Australian actors, John Waters and Daniel MacPherson. Producer Alex Woodward said, “I first saw The Woman in Black in 2020 and knew I had to bring it back to Australia. It’s such an incredible gripping show that is so spellbinding, it has you on the edge of your seat for two hours. When it came to casting we knew it was perfect to ask theatre royalty John Waters to reprise his role he debuted in Australia more than 15 years ago. Daniel was also a natural choice for his incredible ability, charm and charisma.”

For ticketing and further information, visit the QPAC website