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DANIEL BURKE chats The Woman In Black & cricket

Interviewer: Pat Hayward 27th March 2026

Overture’s Pat Hayward got together with Daniel Burke to talk about his latest role as ‘The Actor’ in The Woman In Black ahead of its opening at Mayflower Studios in Southampton on 7th April 2026.

PH: Hi Daniel. Last time we spoke, you were with The Girl On The Train and coming to the end of the tour and you you were telling me about going straight into rehearsals for The Woman in Black. I’m wondering how the transition went.

DB: It was pretty smooth and pretty quick. I didn’t really have a lot of time to think about it. We finished The Girl On the Train on the Saturday in Ireland and I flew back on Sunday and I was in the rehearsal room for The Woman In Black on the Monday. So I was straight in and they’d already been rehearsing for a week before I got there. So I had to do my best to hit the ground running and it was good fun. It was very, sort of, I suppose intense isn’t quite the right word, but it’s somewhere in that direction because we didn’t have a long time. We had about 3 weeks to get it all ready before we had to head up to Chester for our opening week. But it was a very enjoyable rehearsal process. It was quite different going from a reasonably big company down to just two actors. And, thankfully, with John, John Mackay that is, who’s my co-actor, we started to form a relationship very quickly realising that we got on quite well, which was which was handy and important. And touch wood it’s been going well ever since.

PH: Could you tell me a little bit about the story, without giving anything away?

DB: The original story is from a book by Susan Hill that follows a young lawyer called Arthur Kipps. who’s trying to make his way in London. He gets sent by his boss up to a fictional town in Yorkshire to deal with the estate of a client of theirs, who’s just recently passed away, a woman called Mrs Drablow. He heads up, there quite excited about having been given the responsibility to do this. And when he reaches the town, he soon realises that something is amiss and no one in the town really wants to talk to him about Mrs Drablow or the house where she lives. And when he eventually does get to the house, he finds out that it’s haunted. And I’ll probably leave it there, so as not giving anything away. But our version of the play sort of finds Arthur Kipps later on in life. And he wants to tell his family what happened to him. And so he hires the services of a young actor, which is who I play to help him do that. And my character comes up with the idea to tell the story as a sort of show. So I end up playing Arthur Kipps and he plays all the other characters that appear in the story. So it’s it’s sort of done through flashbacks.

PH: So, you started out on this tour in the middle of the summer of last year, so have you, managed to take any vacations since The Girl On The Train?

DB: We hit the road with our first week in Chester towards the end of September, so not really. We had a month off from The Woman In Black, over Christmas, which was good. It was nice to have a prolonged break, but nothing really apart from that. So, who knows, maybe after this job I’ll be able to, yeah.

PH: So how, how much longer does the tour go on for?

DB: We have four more weeks. After the week we’re in now, we go to Malvern next week and then it’s Southampton, Guildford and we finish in Bristol.

PH: And have you any idea of what’s next?

DB: No, not yet. There’s been a few auditions, so I’m waiting to hear back on one or two things. But I’m also quite excited about a break because I’m a big cricket fan and I love playing, if I can, some friendly stuff on a Saturday or a Sunday. And I’ve missed it the last couple of summers. So I’m hoping to be able to play a little bit of cricket this summer.

PH: I really enjoy cricket as well and it’s quite exciting that we’re going to actually get an Ashes game here in Southampton next year.

DB: I love it, I’ve always wanted to watch cricket down in Southampton. And, you know, there’s some some great players that have come from there. I’ve seen England play a few times, but I’ve never been able to get hold of an Ash’s ticket. So that would really be a sort of bucket list thing.

PH: Who do you play cricket for?

DB: I’ll give them a, a nice shout out. They’re a team called the Hobgoblin Nomads based in Brockley in South London. They’re a lovely bunch of lads and we get on, we all get on really well, you know, and we’re a mix of ability. It’s nothing, nothing too serious, but we’ve got some pretty good players too. And we play at Hilly Fields, where we have our sort of quote, unquote. home ground and it’s a lovely place to play cricket on a sunny day.

PH: But for now you’re touring, so every week you’re in a different town. So a different town means a different bed in a different room. What thoughts go through your mind on that first night as you climb into bed and switch the light off?

DB: Being in The Woman In Black, I try and leave work behind, if that’s what you’re hinting at. I mean, I am a believer in the supernatural, I suppose. But I think you have to sort of try and find a way to leave it behind. Most theatres we go to on the first night, they’ll put on a drink or two for us. So you can sort of celebrate opening that week and you spend a bit of time with the company. It’s a small company. We’ve got two of us in the cast and we’ve each got understudies and then there’s a small stage management team that travel with us too. So we just try and spend time together really. And, and also when you need to, you can take some time for yourself and you might go back to your digs and maybe watch some TV or if you can, play a few games or read a book, something just to take your mind off off work and unwind before bed.

PH: So when you’re you’re coming into Southampton with The Woman In Black, you’re actually going to the Mayflower Studios this time.

DB: Yes, we are, which is exciting because I haven’t performed there before. And from what I gather, I think it’s quite a quite an intimate venue, which will work nicely for our show. It’s probably perfect as as long as we’ve sold lots of tickets, and I think they’re pretty good at doing that.

PH: You’ve been into fairly serious productions with Girl On The Train and and now The Woman In Black. Have you got any ambitions to going back to something lighter, like Bang, Bang?

DB: Oh, that’s a bit of a blast from the past. Actually, we’re in Peterborough this week and the last time I was in Peterborough, we were doing Bang, Bang. And so it’s been quite fun to sort of remember that. Yes, I’ve always enjoyed it when I’ve had the opportunity to do comedies. Actually one of the things I auditioned for the other day was a comedy. So, you know, it might be quite nice to to go back to something light after, after a thriller and a horror story. And you know, it obviously requires different sets of skills as well, doesn’t it? But I think, especially in the summertime, it’s often quite nice to do something that has a has a lighter undertone, especially with how the world is at the moment. I think any opportunity to bring a bit of lightness to the to the world is always a good thing, absolutely.

PH: The other thing I wanted to ask you concerns your longer term objectives. Obviously you’ve got a great career in performing but do you have any ambitions to get more into the production side of the business?

DB: I’m not too sure really. I mean, it’s never really raised its head as a great desire for me. But, I suppose never say never. However, I think I would love the opportunity to grow my experience acting on screen. I’ve done a little bit, but I would love the chance to do some more, but sometimes it’s just the way the coins fall. Probably that and maybe directing, more than producing anything. I directed a project at drama school once and quite enjoyed it, even though it was stressful. It was an enjoyable process. So maybe, maybe directing in the future. But I’m quite focused on my acting at the moment, so we’ll have to see if that develops later on.

PH: Yes, I can understand that Daniel. So for now I’ll let you get back to your Friday and I’m looking forward to seeing you at Mayflower Studios in Southampton when you open on 7th April.

DB: Fantastic, take care, Pat. Look after yourself. Bye, bye for now.