The Woman in Black at Oxford Playhouse is so scary even its writer is terrified

“I’ve seen it so many times and yet sometimes it even makes me jump!” she says of the play which is being staged at the Oxford Playhouse until tomorrow.

“I like to watch the show from the wings and be able to see the audience from that angle. It’s especially good when you have school parties in who aren’t expecting to be frightened but then as it begins to get tense suddenly you see the body language of the whole audience shift. Sometimes people react really strongly and shout things out almost involuntarily as they’re so involved in the action on stage!”

A masterpiece of suspense, the play tells the story of a lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the spectre of a woman in black.

Engaging a sceptical young actor to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul, they both find themselves caught up in a world of eerie marshes and moaning winds – and malevolent terror.

“I have always loved reading ghost stories but had realised that in recent years not a lot had been written,” says Susan, describing why she came to write the tale.

“People were writing horror, but horror is different to me. You can have a horror story that doesn’t have a ghost, whereas a ghost story could be horror but also could be unnerving in a different way or even heartbreaking.

“I ended up making a list of the key elements I thought a good ghost story should have and worked from that.”

“I thought it should have atmosphere, lots of atmosphere, an isolated location which in itself is unnerving, and I was absolutely sure that the ghost needed a reason to be there. I wasn’t sure at first whether that would be because they wanted revenge, or they needed to communicate with the living world but I knew they had to have motivation.

“The Woman in Black, she came to me straight away – I wanted her to be a woman and of her period. Then various things that I had found alarming as a child came back into my mind and I wanted to incorporate them including the image of the dusty, cobweb covered nursery which I always think has elements of Miss Havisham in it.”

The tale was adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt and directed by Robin Herford in what is acclaimed as a study in atmosphere, illusion and controlled horror.

What was it like for the author to see her characters appearing in the flesh on stage?

“The Woman in Black herself very much existed in my mind, I knew what she felt like, so it is very peculiar to feel her presence in a theatre,” says Susan.

“The two gentlemen are such brilliantly developed characters and utilised so well by Stephen’s writing for the stage that they become quite different. I’m always interested to see new actors taking it over, because although it is the same text, every pair of actors bring something different to it, it really does change.”

She adds: “The great thing about the show is that it really does use the theatre, the stage, and it makes the audience work. Stephen’s writing makes you use your imagination, and that’s the brilliance of it and also what makes some elements all the more scary!”

Why does she think we enjoy being scared?

“It’s a funny thing isn’t it?” she ponders. “It’s a very primitive instinct, to be frightened. However, the joy of a ghost story is that it is just practice really, we are being frightened delightfully.

“While we may jump and scream in the theatre, we know that we are safe and can allow ourselves to be scared which I think is essential! Perhaps it is our way of learning to manage our fears?”

Does she believe in ghosts? “I think I do, in a sense,” she admits. “I’ve never seen one (as far as I know!), but enough people I know have been in a place which emanates a sense of evil and have felt the urge to immediately get away from it. Also, you always hear of dogs having that sense of something not being right, being spooked, and why would an animal make that up?”

Last time the play came to Oxford, it was a hit with school groups and young people – for some of whom The Woman in Black may have been their first experience of live theatre. What does she advise newcomers to proper theatre look out for?

“Go into the theatre with an open mind and try to immerse yourself in the show.” she says.

“Allow yourself to imagine everything the show invites you to.”

Since then, of course, we’ve had lockdowns and restrictions which have kept theatres dark. Susan took solace and found distraction by writing a new book.

“Writers are always ‘locked down’ in one sense so it was fine,” she says.

“The first lockdown was easy as the weather was so beautiful, and I have lots of garden and meadows around me. The second was tougher as it was cold and dark and everyone was fed up, but I am very aware was in a much better position than many, and grateful for that.”

The play is a highlight of the Playhouse’s reopening season, which has already seen actor Ralph Fiennes and comedian Russell Howard gracing its stage.

She is relieved to see the return of theatre, saying: “The first obvious thing is that over a year of theatre closure has been hardest on actors and theatre backstage and front of house staff, and the production companies and everyone else who keeps them going.

“People love live theatre. There’s something special about it which you can’t get from Netflix or YouTube. I hope, indeed I know, that it introduces many to a lifetime of theatre-going which makes me very proud. So, I hope that with the return of The Woman in Black, we will see the return of young people to the theatre, finding something special there to enjoy and discover.

The Woman in Black is at the Oxford Playhouse until tomorrow (Saturday). Go to oxfordplayhouse.com