THE WOMAN IN BLACK – Mayflower Studios Southampton until 11th April 2026

Review: Pat Hayward 8th April 2026

At last, this week I got the chance to see The Woman In Black near to home without the need to trek to London. One of theatre’s greatest legends, this play has engaged with millions of theatregoers since it first debuted as ‘a Christmas ghost story’ in Scarborough back in 1987. Since, it has been a senior school must see, as the original book has been on the curriculum for many years. Make no mistake, this is not a children’s show, this is full on scary, drama and you can see for yourself this week at Mayflower Studios in Southampton.

This is so much more than just another ghost story, it’s an eerie tale that has a slow build-up of intrigue and suspense, culminating in a chilling climax. It stays true to Susan Hill’s 1983 classic novel and tells the story of solicitor Arthur Kipps who needs to purge himself of a terrible experience he had as a young man when he was sent to examine the papers of a recently deceased old lady who had lived alone in a mysterious mansion, Eel Marsh House, located on the water-locked lands of England’s east coast. There he encountered supernatural phenomena which were to blight the rest of his life.

To help him remember and relive the events he engages with a young actor who will assist in the likely re-enactments. To help create the right atmosphere the pair take to the stage of an empty theatre in order to get all of the components of the story straight. This is clever, as this means that every one of us in the audience becomes part of the story and as such are watching two plays simultaneously: a ghost story involving the young solicitor, and the tale of two men in an empty theatre rehearsing a play for staging later – the actor takes on the solicitor as a young man; the older man handles all the other parts.

In what is a two part drama, the success or failure is down to the two actors that play Kipps and The Actor. On tonight’s performance there couldn’t have been a better choice for this production. Daniel Burke plays ‘The Actor’ and the young ‘Arthur Kipps’, while John Mackay is the older ‘Arthur Kipps’ and most of the other roles, I say ‘most’ as I am still unsure whether there may have been a third person lurking in the scenery at the times when my eyes may have closed. I would say that Daniel Burke’s performance is a tour-de-force, flipping between arrogant young actor and subservient younger Kipps. While John Mackay harnesses all the skills he mastered in his times with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he is an absolute chameleon, changing between characters instantaneously. The two have to resemble each other in build; but there’s a splendid contrast between the nervous hesitancy of the one and the breezy self-confidence of the other.

A simple set – it is an empty theatre after all – with simple drapes and props – all brought to life and given the semi-realism required with outstanding lighting, sound and special effects. It also uses one of the most powerful tools at its disposal – the audience’s imagination and this can be really frightening especially when things happens from within the auditorium. It can make hair stand on end. As The Actor points out to Kipps, stage design doesn’t need complex set pieces to transport you to another world. Instead, just a few props—wicker baskets, a rocking chair, a writing desk—become long causeways and isolated corridors. The same basket that moments ago held costumes suddenly transforms into a pony and trap. This kind of creative gymnastics is a joy in live theatre and here we get given just enough to suggest a scene and then we let our imaginations do the work. Why scare us with tricks, when we can scare ourselves?

Seeing that this play first debuted in London in 1989 and ran for 33 years, which coincided with ITV making a film for broadcast (all traces of which seem to have disappeared) – The Woman In Black has stood the test of time and is likely join the very short list of plays which survive from generation to generation. This is a remarkable piece of theatre brought to life by the incredible pairing of Daniel Burke and John Mackay, let’s hope we get to see more of these two in the near future. Meanwhile, get yourself a ticket and get down to Mayflower Studios before ‘The Woman In Black’ comes to find you.