The Actor (Tom Howley) and Kipps (Doug Richesson0. Photo by Kim Harmon.
If you like a good ghost story, you will not be disappointed with Rockville Little Theatre’s production of “The Woman in Black,” written by Stephen Mallatratt and directed by Noel Schoonover. What makes this tale a bit different is that all the characters are performed by only two actors (except for brief appearances by the titular woman in black).
Howley and Richesson are amazing together…Schoonover’s direction is to be applauded.
Kipps (Doug Richesson) has hired an Actor (Tom Howley) to perform his autobiographical tale about a strange time in his life. His purpose is to excise some of his own nightmarish demons. The Actor convinces Kipps to take the various minor roles in the performance. The Actor also brings along a sound man to help create the mood.
The drama really takes hold when Kipps, performed by the Actor, goes to a little town on the coast of England to close the estate of a client represented by his law firm. The client was an elderly woman and Kipps plans on going to her estate after her funeral. It is there he spots the apparition of the woman in black for the first time. The estate becomes surrounded by water when the tide comes in and even more strange events occur.
I won’t spoil things with more about the play, but it is partly “The Twilight Zone” meets Harold Pinter, with plenty of British banter and spookiness. Based on a novel by Susan Hill, it originally ran for about a dozen years in England but its reception in the states was not as enthusiastic. Theatregoers on the other side of the pond seem to tolerate exposition much more than their American cousins. The first half of the first act moved slowly and was dialogue-heavy as Kipps and the Actor discussed how they are going to perform the memoir. The real suspense started to pick up in the last third of Act 1, and the pace for the rest of the production was much faster, filled with suspense and mystery. One issue for me was I did not always understand the regional British accents.
However, Howley and Richesson are amazing together. The amount of dialogue they had to learn is incredible, and I never detected a line-drop. On a set with nothing at first but a few chairs and a microphone, the two draw the audience into this tale. In one scene, the Actor as Kipps mimes interacting with a dog who is just a figment of his imagination. Nancy Somers as The Woman doesn’t have lines, but creates an effective, spectral presence.
Schoonover’s direction is to be applauded. He gives keeps his actors comfortable with just the minimal set he also created. A scrim is used when the Kipps character goes to an eerie mansion located in the bogs of England. Stephen Deming and Andrew Harasty do an impressive job with lighting, producing the mood as well as keeping the focus on the two actors. Aaron Skolnik’s sound design is quite clever and important to the cohesiveness of the plot.
The production also coincides with the reopening of the renovated F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre. Both are real treats as the fall season begins.
Running Time: Two hours and 10 minutes with one intermission.
“The Woman in Black” runs through October 5, 2025 at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre at the Rockville Civic Center Park, 603 Edmonston Drive, Rockville, MD 20851. For more information and to purchase tickets, please go online.
