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I always make it a point as a director, if a story has another life beyond that of this production: a film, novel, folk tale, or indeed another theatrical production, to allow the script to tell me what it is without preconceptions from having read the novel, or seen the film.
Doing so risks getting swept up in whatever that particular angle on the story is, being taken by characters and plot points that have been highlighted by some means in that distinct telling. 

This isn’t to say that you ignore the source material, but it is a delicate balance that must be struck between the world of the play within the pages of the script, and that of the expanded universe provided by the other formats – you cannot assume that your audience has read the novel, or seen the movie, you must presume they are entering this world, and meeting its characters anew. And therefore, cannot be expected to know or follow information that is not prescribed within that which they see and hear onstage.

The script holds the answers, we must always remember that, as directors and performers. Yes, we may add, augment or embellish with creative choices and character intentions drawn from offers and capabilities of specific actors, and worlds may be unique through innovative design. But the essence, what is at the heart of the story, and the fundamental information of the tale is held within those pages. It's a magic moment when you come upon it as a director, as the script unfurls its power and soul with each turn of the page. 

 

It was quite unexpected, with The Woman In Black. It appeared… 

seemingly out of nowhere – the story, a well-known story of eerie, supernatural goings-on. The thrilling tale, yes, of course, it swept me up and took me to all its peaks and troughs - but the underlying nature of the play? …
I could not have predicted the turn it would take, nor the opportunities it would present.
The story itself is one of gothic horror. But the play poses an extra challenge. The two actors are charged with playing all of the characters within this story. As we the audience see the attempt occur before our very eyes we are treated with the adventure of what it is to experience and make theatre; to become an actor, onstage - the responsibility to your audience; the care you must give when imbuing the world and charging its characters with life; the toll this takes on a person, the investment of energy, and emotion, and focus — and of course the magic it creates for you and your audience when you manage to find it.

We took the essence of this tale, both from its immersive, transportative and evocative nature and the strong thread of metatheatricality, and embraced both in this version of the work by finding a way to augment them through technical design and action.  

 

The Woman In Black is indeed a tale of intrigue, of adventure, of discovery and terror. 

Whether in our minds, our memory, or in the room with us; this experience of The Woman In Black takes you there, it draws you into its world, shows you in its theatre, things that one is not meant to see, and allows your mind to run rampant. 

Let yourself be taken. Let yourself be immersed in its swirling mists, twists, turns, and magic - an entire world unfolding before you. 

Imagine it. 

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- Chris Jackson

DIRECTOR