A theatre review by Lauren Noble
There is a singular moment of terror that has heretofore surpassed any jump scare I have ever experienced in any capacity in my lived reality or from within he recesses of my very active imagination. If I were to close my eyes right now, I could very quickly transport my astral self back to the second row of Popular Productions' The Woman in Black at The Madinat in 2017. To my right is one of my drama students on the very edge of her seat, eyes wide as she drinks in the entirety of the proscenium arch, voraciously scanning the stage space, right to left, left to right, even up and down, for goodness knows what reason, for even the slightest shadow of The Woman. To my left is my another student who, with each new fright, has gradually become more and more horizontal within her chair and is now seemingly warding off evil incarnate by holding a program in front of her face with just a sliver of her eye showing above it. It was within this treacherous, tense atmosphere that one of my top ten theatrical memories took place. The scenery, set and props were simple enough. A creaking door. An abandoned nursery. A frenzied rocking chair. An ominous music box. A failing torch. And then. A split second apparition which may or may not have happened at all. An image that embedded itself so viscerally in my mind that for weeks and weeks afterwards I was unable to walk into any darkened room within my home without The Woman manifesting her veiled self into the space and making my breath quicken as I reminded my brain... she's not real... she's not real... she's not real... However, having just experienced a masterful restaging of the production by West End Worldwide at The Zabeel Theatre, I am still not entirely sure that she isn't.
Susan Hill's novella sits innocuously on the shelf of my library at home. Shorter than many other books beside it and quickly compelling as a result, The Woman in Black is a story which establishes and later reiterates the intrinsic energy that exists within words. It is for this reason that I strongly believe every 21st century home should have its own library consisting of multiple media. Words in all their diverse forms and structures have the ability to ignite our minds in the most tangible ways. In this form and structure, we experience the action through the words of the written memories of the protagonist, immediately endowing us readers with the power to challenge everything we read from that moment onwards.
Whatever was about, whoever I had seen, and heard rocking, and who had passed me by just now, whoever had opened the locked door was not real. No. But what was real? At that moment I began to doubt my own reality.
This theme of the perceptions of reality and fantasy form a significant part of Stephen Mallatratt's stage adaptation. Where the novella does much to instil an awareness of the power of words, Mallatratt takes this a step further still and ensures that his audience understands about the potential of words too. After all, we are consistently reminded that we are watching a play within a play, a story within a story, and are doing so through the magic of theatrical storytelling techniques. We as the audience are then thrust into the very heart of the narrative and endowed with the power to discern multiple levels of interpretations that exist within the space between the page and the stage. And what better way to understand those distinct levels of interpretation than by discussing them with the producer, director and actors themselves?
Invited by the award-winning founder of West End Worldwide to conduct a pre-show interview with cast and creatives responsible for bringing The Woman in Black to Dubai this year, I have to admit that moments like this still make me pinch myself. Once just a dream, this is now part of my reality. And it is only because of individuals like Lucy Magee who support the arts in ways that extend beyond her own work within the region, that I get the opportunity to do what I love. To discover what makes other artists tick and to write about it to ensure their artistry is all chronicled within the archives of our industry. It is an aspect of my own journey which started during a writing residency with Adrienne Sichel for JOMBA! Khuluma and continues as something I intend to embed more deeply in the fabric of Collab Company in the coming year. Reigniting the fires of arts journalism with The Woman in Black? Well, don't mind if I do!
Cursing the living nightmare that is somehow not due to the causeway before Eel March House but the construction traffic on The Palm, I arrive uncharacteristically late to the interview and launch through the ornate doors of The Zabeel Theatre with Lucy to find just three individuals sitting in the back rows of the auditorium: John Payton, George Telfer and Christopher Bonwell.
It strikes me immediately that this is effectively the beating heart of a production whereby the two individuals on stage are entirely responsible for delivering - with meticulous exactitude - a high octane two-hander which not only captures the vision of the two offstage, but flawlessly interacts with aspects that support the suspension of disbelief in such a way that the audience is hooked and remains so for the duration of two acts.
I wonder if those folks throughout my career who have told me that acting is easy - that anyone can do it - have ever attempted something like The Woman in Black. What a teachable moment that would be! I am of the opinion that any production in the 21st century that has the ability to gain and then hold the attention of a multi-generational audience for an extended period of time is worthy of attention for this act alone. With streaming companies not only acknowledging the concept of dual-screening or media-multitasking, but actively producing content that encourages it, there has never been a fiercer urgency for the theatre to continue crafting new or revisiting old pieces in a way that proves to our audiences that we are fully capable of a single focal point as much as we are of screen-stacking. West End Worldwide's latest iteration of The Woman in Black delivers countless reasons for us to fixate on the tale unfolding in front of us to the rejection of everything else.... not something I have seen in Dubai for quite some time!
As I sit down in the back of the auditorium, I glance up and a fleeting thought flashes through my mind before asking my first question. I was sitting right there in front of George Telfer who is one of those actors who boasts a seemingly endless repertoire that spans decades, who has performed in the most encyclopaedic range of roles on stage and screen during this time... and who is also the type to share a smiley, casual and - frankly - rather adorable snapshot on his Instagram with none other than Matthew Modine himself (Papa for you Stranger Things fans!) No time like the present to get a little starstruck. I find my voice and ask my first question to the actors, aiming to discover why they auditioned for this role in the first place. Telfer wastes no time in expressing how few times you receive the opportunity to experience a play that demands such a range of emotion and, for him specifically, the space to breathe life into so many characters.
It's a glorious role for both of us. For actors it's just the best opportunity ever. It's very theatrical.
So comfortable is the back-and-forth quality of their staged relationship, it comes as no surprise to me to hear Christopher Bonwell effortlessly build off of Telfer's response with his own. Even here, plain clothes and sitting in the seats instead of on the stage, their chemistry is undeniable. I get a frisson of anticipation in that moment, contemplating what a treat I'm in for during the show itself. "It's pure theatre. It's got everything you'd want from a play." Their obvious admiration for the piece itself piques my curiosity as to whether either actor has ever auditioned for their role before this production or even used the monologues from The Woman in Black in other auditions. Bonwell admits a secret to us. "I actually auditioned about 10 years ago. I was far too young. But I remember doing it and I knew I wasn't right for it then. But I thought - oh, one day - if I get to do this - it would be really special." Given how Bonwell's career has often seen him in the studio, narrating audiobooks and recording voice overs, his awareness of the poetic idiosyncrasies within Stephen Mallatratt's stage adaptation are at the forefront of his appreciation of the wider piece. "It's beautiful. It just has such a beautiful art to it." As a theatre nerd with a love for the ebbs and flows of the spoken word on stage and someone who has watched the production twice in Dubai and once on the West End, I could not agree more.
We spend some time discussing favourite moments within the process and the performances thus far, and everyone in the team agrees that the response to the work has been phenomenal. Without an official stage door moment, the creatives involved have often popped out to the lobby for a post-show conversation with audiences and have been inundated with a deep appreciation for the production and the fact that West End Worldwide has brought it back to Dubai. Telfer's stand out moment on stage, however, takes place at the the end of the first scene.
There's been lines between us where my character is clearly not an actor, and finding it hard to say the words. And then suddenly there's that line at the end about how he can't carry the burden any longer. It's that. That's the gear change. The first big gear change.
And, of course, those gear changes are embedded within the directorial vision which guides the actors to not only locate their own gears but to integrate specific gear changes throughout the show.
John Payton, who apart from directing The Woman in Black also composed the score for this iteration, has been a long-time collaborative partner of Magee and it was wonderful to meet him in person at last. My final thesis at university was about the blurring of boundaries between cinema and theatre, and the addition of an SFX-laden musical score during pivotal moments throughout the production was proof positive that there is such power in understanding the value of music which speaks to the innate melody of the words of Mallatratt's adaptation. Payton's deft hand, both figuratively as director and quite literally as the sound designer and technician, provided the audience with a blend of soft soundscapes that contextualised the action and an assault on our senses in some of the most terrifying moments of the show itself. That one malevolent scream in particular may just echo through eternity - especially for the poor woman in front of me who jumped right out of herself and back again before being plunged into the inky darkness with the rest of us! Petrifying. My question to Payton involves the fact that he and Magee have often reconnected in the spaces in and around this show specifically. I wanted to know what it was like this time around given how extensive the history is between these two artists and the show itself.
It's special. It's been seven years since we last got together for this. Touring out here we felt at home in the old Madinat Theatre. Transitioning to a new theatre meant that we had to make new adaptations, so even though it was an existing production, it meant we could rethink it together. And I don't know about Lucy, but it felt like it hadn't been seven years at all.
I love the idea of these two phenomenal artists in their own right collaborating so effortlessly on such a mammoth project as this one. Wondering how they make it work, Magee explains that they always make the big decisions together. Casting the show together in London, for example, was an absolute necessity for them and their decision to collaborate in the same space has certainly paid off with the pairing of Telfer and Bonwell. But then, of course, their professional working relationship is so fine-tuned by now that even working separately in London and Dubai, they are somehow still always working together. As Bonwell says: "They have that creative shorthand together!"
Payton and Magee talk me through the design of the show, paying close attention to how The Zabeel Theatre was conceived as a music hall and not a proscenium arch theatre as we would understand it. As a result, the playing space has increased by two metres and presented a unique challenge to Cleo Pettitt and Dan Creasey for set and lighting which are two very unique aspects of this show. In many ways the environment itself is another character in the show: as The Actor playing young Arthur Kipps begins to experience the paranormal, thus Payton's sound design guides us towards the top floor of Eel Marsh House using thudding footsteps only for Creasey's lighting design to propel the character forward into a stunning pane glass window gobo effect and eventually send all of us in the audience into a tailspin as the door of Pettitt's set swings open at last. The creation of atmosphere was everything in this iteration of The Woman in Black and I absolutely loved watching such specific artistry and artists collaborating in real time to craft such a unique environment throughout the performance.
I am granted an exclusive backstage tour and walkthrough of the technical wizardry of the show with Lucy and John whilst Telfer and Bonwell warm up for their performance. What a thrill it was to meet the magicians before the magic fills this auditorium. In fact, the magic of it all is perhaps my favourite aspect of this show (because seriously, who can pick just one?!) The magic in how simplicity is made to look extraordinarily complicated to the audience. Don't get me wrong, the sightline tape and directional support markers backstage are more complicated than anything I have ever seen in my career - but the value which is placed of simplicity of form and function in a show that somehow elevates everything ten-fold is quite something to experience. We discuss the theatre trickery of the show and although I am bound by the code of theatre nerds not to divulge much, what I can say that the audience not knowing how the things that happen on stage are made to happen on stage is an absolute pleasure to experience if you have seen the show multiple times. Experiencing the audience reacting to the jump scares and the theatrical trickery is almost a show on its own! Magee laughs out loud as she recalls a patron the night before congratulating her on the beautiful projections on stage and the reaction when presented with the fact that there was absolutely no digital imagery used at all during The Woman in Black.
Lucy and I connected as professionals because of her work on The Woman in Black in 2017 and we soon fell into step with one another in a more personal capacity. I am unashamedly one of her biggest fans, amazed not only at the sheer force of quiet determination that seems to emanate from within but the way she shows up for the individuals in her life. It comes as no surprise to me that folks queued up behind one another to discover how they could get involved with this production. Such is the magnetism of Lucy Magee. From the scenography students of Sharjah Performing Arts Academy getting a plethora of professional masterclass moments with Pettitt throughout the design process, to those Lucy fondly calls her "angels" who have supported the production with their unfailing belief in it being another resounding success for her. From the full circle moment of Nancy hiring her own Dodger from the Dubai run of Oliver! (2012) as the ASM on The Woman in Black (2024), to the brands who stepped in to sponsor the production with their unique offerings in this region and beyond. This production is a testament to creative work within the UAE which is truly collaborative in nature, giving as much as it gets, and I am thrilled to have experienced a small sliver of that energy myself.
It would certainly be remiss of me to exit stage left before offering a review of the final production itself which, by every standard known to arts journalism, was a smash hit. Christopher Bonwell's command of the stage space aside, his ability to hook the audience in the opening sequence and hold them in the palm of his hand for a largely monologue driven performance was astounding. I remember looking around the room at the audience and saw every face looking up at the stage, drinking in and at times even devouring the narrative as he told it. And please do not get me started on George Telfer's understated mastery of the art of theatrical timing because, if you do, I will need another article to do it justice. To know, so intrinsically, with such pinpoint precision, not just where you need to go, but also where your audience needs to go too, is something that cannot be honed unless it already exists within an actor. If Bonwell's performance brought us into the story, then Telfer's performance transported us through the narrative, ensuring that we were positioned exactly where we needed to be for maximum thrills and chills. His Rolodex of characters was brought to life through definitive changes in accent a lot of the time, but it was in the moments where his physicality shifted almost imperceptibly alongside the most subtle of refinements to changes in dialect that I sat there muttering "wow" under my breath. And their chemistry? I knew it would be good but I was not prepared for how good the give-and-take between two such distinctive characters would be when brought to life by two such distinguished actors. It was both a pleasure and a privilege to be ensconced in their world for two hours, because their impact will be revisited in my mind for years to come. In the words of Lucy Magee herself:
This is certainly not a play one can just sit and consume then leave. It will stay with you. It really makes an impact. I mean, what's the point if you're not going to make an impact in theatre?
What, indeed...
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© Lauren Noble for Collab Company | 2024
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