Drama Women in Black Review free essay sample

The theatre is of Victorian style with ornate decorations and red carpets and seating, this instantly transport me to the era in which the play is set in the 19th century. The stage is open for the audience to see before the play starts and is set out as the stage in a small theatre, a basket for props, two chairs, a rack of costumes and buckets catching water from a leaky roof. The most important part of the set though was the gauze at the back of the stage separating a separate scene behind and revealing it hen needed using lighting. This combination of props and structure conveys the location strongly to the audience without being so defined that it is not possible to change the scene. While we waited there was no background music which gave a slightly eerie edge to the wait. The play started in the theatre depicted on the stage and almost immediately the humour as Mr Kipps’s is reading his memoirs and you don’t think it is going to be horror at all and I think this could be done to lulled the audience into a false sense of security which made shocks later in the play a lot more effective. The most important element of the play I feel was the lighting the spotlights was used to great effect and to draw attention to their facial expressions. Also it allowed the gauze to be rendered opaque or see through at the click of a switch which enabled the stage hands to change set whilst the play continued allowing for swift changes as if actually by magic the gauze also made what was going on behind it look blurry and you couldn’t really see what was going on. Another effective use of lighting was the torch when Kipps is searching the house for the ghost and when he sits down shines the beam above and behind him to reveal the woman in black standing behind him, the torch is clearly specially narrow beamed so that only a small area is visible and the audience feels the tension as they realise that the woman in black is lurking in the shadows. Again in the church scene gauze added to the impression of the dinginess that without it the scene wouldn’t have had. One use of lighting that I felt really was crucial to the scene was when Kipps is walking up the staircase towards the nursery with the rocking chair, the entire image is dark which turned an innocent act like walking up a staircase into a way of creating more tension in the audience, as well as Kipps the woman in black is seen on the stairs which allows here black clothes to be darkened even more and only her white face is visible to the audience. Lighting was important but sound was just as important. The reason the sound worked was mainly due to the fact that it was only ever used in context and were it definitely added to the play. The background sound really drew the audience into the scene from the harsh rattling of the pony and trap to the warm conversation in the bar. It was especially effective for indicating the presence of objects hidden in swirling mist or supernatural noises. This was particularly the case in the scene were the young Kipps is lost in the sea mists and he hears a pony and trap coming towards him, however neither he or the audience can see it and the fear that it will pass right by him builds the tension so that when the sound of a crash is heard the audience is horrified rather than slightly scared. Obviously the most important use of sound was the scream of the woman in black, at the moments of highest tension in the play the bloodcurdling cry shattered the atmosphere a. The real thing that made these screams so perfect were the pauses of absolute silence before and after in which one could have cut the atmosphere with a knife and the audience was so drawn into the play it was so quite you that you would of heard a pin drop. Costume was simple with slight changes. The rack to one side of the stage was hung with a coat a hat and a scarf. One use of costume was when the real Mr Kipps was playing the employer of Mr Kipps (actor) simply by using subtle mannerisms and wearing him glasses on the tip of his nose like a man who looks down even on those taller than himself. The scarf and coat were not worn prior to journeys to and from the house this gave itself the idea of the bleak cold isolated marshes with the sea mists. The character costumes were each well thought out, the actor was dressed in trousers braces and smart jacket. Mr Kipps dressed in a grey worn suit which enhances his lack of self-confidence. However the most impressive costume by far is that of the woman in black. Dressed entirely in a black Victorian high necked dress, a bonnet covered the head and face except from front so you can see her scary white complexion with sunken eye sockets and weathered skin. A truly terrifying character but with very simple but effective clothes. The black clothing allowed her to move around the stage and appear without being noticed. The best acting performance I felt was that of the real Mr Kipps. The way he started the play on the note of humour with a dull tone of voice and then as if by magic switches band become a man with no fear as the solicitor’s representative in the village. Also not only his ability to play the multiple roles that were required of his character was impressive he very clearly changed his characters abilities as the play progressed from the boring dull acting as his own assistant to the amazing change to his. Throughout each character he played was believable no matter how strange they were. The younger actor playing Actor was also impressive and made a wonderful impression as the young Arthur Kipps and played out the dramatic scenes fantastically. The fear that the audience feels throughout is due to the tension being created on stage. Not once did the play become exaggerated, over-the-top or false although he played the articulate confident actor very well and his character was as stereotypical as it could have been without seeming ridiculous. His cocked eyebrow and powerful stance hinted at a feeling of slight superiority. One of the most effective moments in the play personally was when the woman in black is seen rocking in her chair behind the gauze, manic music playing in the background, her hair messy and we could see a vision or a woman destroyed by grief her suddenly mid rock runs off the stage. This was not so much a scary moment more of a disturbing one showing him life of someone clearly very distraught. I thought was the way in which she rocked violently even though her gaze never moved and showed she had complete focus. The fact it was so realistic production was far more frightening than any horror film. Packed with twists, turns and unexpected surprises, this production leaves the audience with goose bumps and even, in some cases, shaking with fear. Hanging on the fantastic performances of the two-man cast, this is an incredibly well produced and effectively spooky play and I thoroughly enjoyed it.