Actors reveal all on The Woman In Black

Here David Acton, who plays the role of Mr Kipps, and Matthew Spencer who plays The Actor talk about the show...

Matthew Spencer

WHAT SORT OF PERSON IS GOING TO LOVE THIS SHOW?

I think anyone will love this show as it's got screams, jumps but also humour and laughs. But most of all it's a play about story, theatre and the imagination and that is something anyone can get involved with.

WHY DID YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PRODUCTION?

I'd seen the show when I first graduated from drama school and loved it. I was convinced that it wouldn't be scary, I mean, how could it be...? But it was! I left quite shaken but also enthused by it. And so it was always a play that I'd hope to get a chance to be in at some point. It's a joy for an actor to play, as there are just two of us, and it's about theatre, so there's a lot of fun to be had playing an actor and then taking on parts in front of the audience.

HOW IS THIS PRODUCTION BRINGING SOMETHING NEW TO THIS STORY?

I think with each new cast a new energy and way of telling the story is brought to. That's the pleasure and luck of being able to rehearse with Robin Herford so we can find our way of telling the tale. I think we work by the theory that the louder they laugh at the beginning the louder they'll be screaming by the end!

WHAT’S GOING TO SURPRISE PEOPLE ABOUT THIS SHOW?

That there can be so many characters and settings and things brought to life in front of their eyes with hardly any set and props to aid us.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE ABOUT TAKING ON THIS ROLE?

Probably the energy that is required eight times a week (sometimes nine or 10!) to do the show. It's a very wordy play with beautiful language, but it means that neither of us really stop talking for 2 hours, and any kind of dip to that energy really lets the show down and doesn't do it justice I think.

WITHOUT GIVING ANYTHING AWAY, WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE LINE OF DIALOGUE?

For some reason I love: "We tuck ourselves in with our backs to the wind and carry on with our business." A beautiful line and really gives the right feeling to the kind of people live in Crythin Gifford.

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David Acton

WHAT’S CHALLENGING ABOUT BRINGING THIS SCRIPT TO LIFE?

There are only two of us in the play, so that demands energy and concentration. The particular challenge for me is that I play seven different characters; and four of them come from the same imaginary market town of Crythin Gifford, which we have pictured somewhere on the Yorkshire coast. So these four characters all have the same accent. To differentiate between them - helped by changes of coats and hats - I have had to find different rhythms of movement and speech, different postures, different characteristics; but always within the bounds of the play, keeping true to the story we’re trying to tell.

WHAT WILL THE AUDIENCE BE THINKING ABOUT IN THE CAR AS THEY DRIVE HOME AFTER THIS SHOW?

I hope they’ll be thinking and talking about what an enjoyable evening they’ve had! About what a good tale it is, the cleverness of the story-telling, the unexpected humour, the jumps and surprises that took them off guard, the sadness and loneliness at the heart of the story.