The Woman in Black at Parker Theatre 2026

Seeing The Woman in Black at Parker Theatre has become a really fun Halloween tradition and I was thrilled to be in the audience last night! It is so scary! Arthur Kipps (Michael Hohl) is still traumatized by an encounter many years ago with an apparition while settling the estate of Alice Drablow at Eel Marsh House on an isolated island that is only accessible by a causeway at low tide. He believes that he can stop the nightmares that plague him by recounting his experience publicly on stage so he hires an Actor (Ben Lowell) to help him. The Actor convinces him to act out the story instead of reading it from a manuscript so they begin rehearsing in a Victorian theatre using minimal props, realistic sound cues, and atmospheric lighting design. The Actor portrays a younger version of Kipps while he portrays all of the other characters and narrates the play. The action on stage depicts Kipps attending Drablow's funeral, traveling to her house in an old-fashioned pony and trap, working alone in the eerie house, and witnessing unsettling events while a strange figure dressed in black seems to follow him. They periodically stop the rehearsal to discuss their performances and, during one such break, Kipp promises a surprise. The Actor interprets this to mean that Kipp hired the actress who suddenly appeared on stage with them. The action concludes when young Kipps discovers the identity of the mysterious figure and when the Actor makes a startling realization about the actress portraying her. What makes this show so unsettling is the imaginative stagecraft used to tell the story, especially the brilliant use of light and shadow and the disconcerting sound design. I was particularly struck by the smoke effects used when Kipps is trapped in fog on the causeway, the light from a single torch when he gets lost in the pitch black darkness of the marsh, the shadows that appear on a scrim when he stumbles upon an overgrown cemetery, and the creaking of a rocking chair when he discovers a room that seems to be haunted. Light and shadow is also used very effectively whenever the woman in black appears because I was never really sure if she was there or not (I have now seen this production three times and I knew what was coming but I still jumped about a mile out of my seat when the woman in black appeared in the aisle next to me and so did a few other people). Finally, the acting is exceptional. Lowell really commits to the physicality of the role (he is often the only one on stage and he must reacts to things that are imaginary) and his terror is palpable. Hohl fully inhabits each of the characters he portrays with just the addition of an article of clothing or prop and it is impressive to watch. The Parker is the perfect venue for this play because it actually feels like it could be haunted and I loved everything about this production. If you are looking for something scary to do for Halloween I highly recommend getting a ticket for this spooky show (go here). It is a limited engagement through November 7.

Note: I happened to be sitting by Joanne Parker, the owner of the theatre, and she noticed my intense reaction to the appearance of the woman in black. We had a really fun conversation about this production, the theatre, and their past literary adaptations.