Two actors share the spotlight in one of the longest-running productions to ever hit the stage. A story for the ages, The Woman in Black is set to thrill local audiences when it arrives at Canberra Theatre Centre on 9-14 July.
Surpassed on the West End only by The Mousetrap, which was written decades earlier, The Woman in Black has been heralded as a masterpiece of the stage and thriller genre. Originally a Christmastime play, the viewer is transported to the Eel Marsh House in a small market town in Northern England, where we meet our protagonist, Arthur Kipps.
“He is a man who had a terribly traumatic event in his life some 30 years previously. He wants to explain to his family what happened, and he gets the young actor to help him tell the story in an empty theatre,” says renowned Australian actor John Waters, who plays Arthur.
A play within a play, the young actor, played in this rendition by Daniel MacPherson, uses props that would be on hand in a theatre to help tell the story of people Arthur encountered along the way. Each offers a glimpse into the secrets of Eel Marsh House.
The audience, in effect, watches these two men enact this play which tells a story of events that happened 30 years ago. A performance-driven production with two powerhouse gems of the Australian entertainment industry, Mr Waters says the horror theme is aided by tricks of lighting and sound effects.
“There are times when the audience literally jumps out of their chair and shrieks. But more than that, it is a story of loss and trauma and two very different men forming a friendship. It has a lot more to it than being a horror show,” says Mr Waters.
Suggesting potential attendees to disregard the movie of the same name which changed the story significantly, Mr Waters says The Woman in Black offers more than the average play. Driven by bravery and courage, human frailty and toughness, and good and evil, it is a story that is felt as much as it is seen.
“The evil is more evil than you think …The audience gets to know these characters and I think they feel invested in it. This is the play that you walk out of and say to your friends ‘That was a unique experience’,” says Mr Waters.
The British-born performer is proud to alsobe Australian; he loves Australia and has been happily living and working here for decades.
“I’m very English by nature and by culture and all of that, but I like that having a dual nationality almost gives you a dual personality. I’ve got two passports; I feel like a spy when I’m travelling … I also love the fact that I keep a foot in both camps by travelling constantly to the UK, because it just keeps me aware of the whole world.”
The full package, Mr Waters is a well-renowned musician as well as a heralded stage and screen actor, but he would be hard-pressed to choose a favourite medium. The frontman of a band, he loves entertaining audiences when on stage and says the different types of performing are the same skills applied differently.
“A stage production like this where there is so much involvement, you’re not an actor who sits in the dressing room, comes on for ten minutes and goes off again, you’re in the whole thing. It requires a lot of pre-production work, even before rehearsals start you need to basically learn the text,” he says. “When you’re making a film, at the end of every day’s work you’re learning a few words that are spoken in the scene that you are shooting the following day and then they’re gone, and you don’t have to remember them anymore.”
One of the things many will remember Mr Waters for was his time as a presenter on the beloved children’s show Play School. Appearing on the show from 1972 to 1991, Mr Waters’ time guiding the youth of the nation through stories and craft is one that he remembers fondly.
“There was a lot of fun, it was very rewarding as well because you’ve got an audience out there of very perceptive preschool children, they don’t have a bias about what they see on television. They have a direct perception and direct response; if you don’t engage them, they turn off,” he smiles.
Mr Waters says it was one of the few jobs where you can make an impact on a stranger just by doing your role, particularly during those important formative years. Still approached by viewers of the show, he is always thrilled to hear how much they enjoyed it.
“When I get Play School viewers come up to me and say, ‘I really loved watching you on Play school,’ some people have said that I played a part in their childhood, people who are now in their 40s and 50s, that’s a rewarding thing.”
Sharing the screen with Benita Collings and Noni Hazlehurst, Mr Waters says they weren’t filling the role of a teacher, friend, or contemporary but rather something else. With each episode shot all in one take, they had to run with any mistakes they made when it came to assembling crafts.
Of all the faces Mr Waters shared a screen with, who is his favourite?
“Humpty; he puts up with a lot, we made him fall down all the time and he came up smiling every time,” says Mr Waters.
The long-running ABC kids’ program is one of the projects Mr Waters is particularly proud of, another is also an ABC series.
“Rush was the thing that I most felt as though it was a big success as a show and a personal success for me back in the early ‘70s and it was a point in the story of my career.”
After The Woman in Black wraps up, Mr Waters is keeping options open for TV and film opportunities but doesn’t plan to tour with another play this year. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any tours on the horizon.
“I started out in music and I still go around doing concert shows with a band of mine. I’ve got a new show called Radio Luxemburg that is going to be touring around in the new year. Classic rock of the ‘60s, great Baby Boomers fodder, but it is a fantastic band, a lot of songs that might be familiar to the audience but hearing them live is a new experience.”
Encounter The Woman in Black at Canberra Theatre Centre on 9-14 July; canberratheatrecentre.com.au
