The Woman In Black @ The Fortune Theatre

I saw The Women in Black last night at the fortune theatre. AND WHAT A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. It was truely the most aweful production I have ever seen.

I am susprised they can get away with such rubbish.... Two actors, whom play several characters, you even have to imagine a dog is on stage at one point.

Its no more then a school play, this shouldnt be on at the west end. They havent invested in props and the set never changes.

My advice: DO NOT GO !! you will be disapointed to say the least !! Oh and if a member of the production team is reading this.. I want a refund and i suggest you update the whole thing entirely.. Just aweful and still fuming considering they charge the same price for tickets as the standard decent west end show.

This show really is a complete and utter rip off! We arrived at the tiny ramshackle Fortune Theatre and were guided down some stairs to an annex which doubled as a corridor "bar" with no seating. This is where I got the biggest fright of the evening, 2 little bottles of water and 2 little bottles of San Miguel, £13.00! The performance was OK and the actors did well. The "Star" of the show is a larger whicker basket that doubles as, horse and carriage, train, bed, desk. You could marvel at the multi purpose use of this prop being of great artistic worth in a contemporary sense. I call it cheapskate! The whole show from set, props to lighting is cheapskate and it should be all packed up and consigned to a back room fringe theatre in a pub OUT of the West End, where it does West End "theatre" a great injustice. This production is no more than a cash generator for its skinflint producer, avoid it at all costs, go and see the film instead. To give you an indication of how "Cheap" this show is, if your tickets here were £25 each, then tickets to something like Warhorse or Chicago should be £1000 each! The producer must be making a fortune!

I really enjoyed this play when I went to see it. Being warned about the women who glides down the centre of the aisle I carefully placed my friend closest to the aisle and winced every time I thought she was approaching. This feeling of nerves made an even better atmosphere inside the theatre and it created an even better overall effect and feeling for me.

A great play, they allow you to use your imagination and concerntrate on the storyline, which is easy to follow due to few characters.
Well structured to allow the story to be slowly set up and to pick up pace.
Fear and concern flow through you as with all good ghost stories bringing you to the final scenes and allowing you to return to the sunshine and security.
I recommend this play to anyone who is able to open their imagination, go see and enjoy. (Oh and take a moment to look up at the ceiling above the main stalls, beautiful).

This is theatre at it's worst. There are two speaking parts and, of course, the "scary" woman who shows up to frighten the bejesus of the adolescents in the audience. Most of the crowd are GCSE kids on a night out and the play is designed for this.

I went last week (free tickets) and almost cut my own face of with boredom when one character was explaining to the other that by pretending they were in a horse and carriage they wouldn't need an actual horse and carriage to play the scene.

I honestly don't think theatre could have been more over explained. Even the kids know it's not like telly.

That said the Fortune is gorgeous. Check out the ceiling during the really tedious bits. The set is quite good too.

I'd bring older kids to this for sure.

I love the Woman in Black! It has everything a great play should have!

How can a '2 hander' theatre show remain in the West End for so long? The proof is in the pudding, (or whatever it is they say)!

Go see it!!

If you’re visiting London and you’re trying to decide what to go and see at the theatre… look no further. The Woman in Black is one of the longest running plays on the west end and for good reason. It’s outstanding (and bloody scary too!). I won’t go into the details of the play (i don’t want to spoil it for you!) but i can say that it’s one of the most frightening things i have ever seen (and i like horror movies!).

The Fortune Theatre itself is small and intimate ( i imagine it holds about 250-300 people). The floor board creak, the seats are old and slightly worn. Perfect atmosphere for this play.

Tickets start at £30, but you will have to book in advance, particularly if you’re thinking about seeing a weekend show. Try ticketmaster.com

An excellent production which is genuinely scary (but with enough light relief to prevent it becoming too heavy going). As most other reviewers have pointed out there are plenty of deals out there (we got excellent centre seats in the stalls for £20 on lastminute). Only downer is that the theatre, while atmospheric and perfect for the place, is cramped and for someone a little taller such as myself it did become uncomfortable towards the end. Despite this i’d still thoroughly recommend The Woman In Black as a must see play in London.

Wow - this was so scary!!! I went to see it when I was at school and was scared for ages afterwards! It’s a really small theatre so no matter where you sit you are still totally in the whole atomosphere. There’s a cast of only 2 people and the acting is extremely good. If you get a group of screaming / giggling kids it can be annoying but it’s still well worth going to see - just don’t sit in the aisle in the stalls like I did!

this is definately one of the best plays i have ever seen. With two main actors and one ghost it is incredible how much such a small cast can achieve. groups of girls screaming and giggling can slightly ruin the atmosphere but this show will scare even the hardest of people. i would definately recommend watching it.

Go before Christmas; it’s Victorian, it’s creepy, it should definitely be watched when it’s cold outside and preferably foggy. The Woman in Black may have been at the Fortune Theatre since God wore short trousers, but it’s far from stale. It’s a Christmas Eve ghost story that is being adapted for a stage show. All the action takes place with a cast of just two. With the likes of Saw V on at the cinemas, many people might think Woman in Black is a quaint distraction for tourists, too mainstream for anyone seeking a horror story. Well, many people are wrong. It’s great. Take your girlfriend and wait for her to scream.

The Woman in Black is a brilliant, spooky evening out - perfect for winter and Christmas time. It’s not exactly Chekhov, but definitely keep you entertained! When we went it was full of school kids, but it kept 'em quiet throughout, which is an achievement. It’s a good old Victorian ghost story, with plenty of jumps; my friend couldn’t sleep after watching it, because he was convinced the woman was in his room! It’s just nice to see an old fashioned yarn, in the era of horror films like Hostel. No one seems to make good ghost stories any more! If you’re thinking of going, you should defo be able to get 2for1 tickets, by using daysoutguide.co.uk or checking on theatremonkey.co.uk

Woman in Black had my heart racing as the tension slowly builds. I never thought this would be possible in a theatre surrounding but I was taken away by the acting skills and the way this play has been put together. I really recommend seeing it and I am glad it was the first play I ever went to see.

Brilliant play with a real sense of the macabre about it. No wonder its been running for so long. I saw this on a school trip when I was younger and remembered it being excellent so took my boyfriend on a cheap ticket deal last January. It was captivating throughout, the acting was excellent and he was thoroughly spooked by the end of it.
The staging is very simple and relies on the quality of the actors to carry the story.
Beware those of you with long legs however, we were sitting on the lower circle and as with many old theatres, it is extremely cramped. I was slightly distracted from the performance by the lack of room and I’m only 5’7’’! ( but not much!) I’d recommend the stalls instead, but definately a must see for all.

We went to see this quite a few years ago and I am going to take my children when they are old enough.

The set is very simple and the acting is outstanding. What ever happens you must stay until the end. Perhaps take a change of trousers!!!!!

I went to see this play at The Fortune Theatre a couple of years ago, and my word, what an experience.

We decided on a matinee performance, as we’d heard about this play, and didn’t fancy coming out in the dark afterwards. I know, a little silly, but there you go.

It’s a cosy little theatre, and whilst we could only afford the 'cheap seats’ it didn’t feel we were any further removed from the action than what you might feel in some larger theatre’s. The atmosphere permeated the whole building.

I’d read a few Susan Hill novels, and they play on your imagination. I’d also seen the television version and was scared witless by it, still am. But I’m telling you, they are nothing compared to this experience. It was chilling. Two actors, an engaging story, simple set but all put together cleverly to add real tension and suspense. There are some very jumpy moments, but I won’t ruin it for you.

All said, you must go and see it. Take a friend, and don’t worry about trying to get to a matinee performance, cos it didn’t make a jot of difference. We were creeped out for weeks. Scary.

I went to see this a few years ago and still talk about and recommend to friends and family to this day.

It is quite chilling if you let your imagine run wild. My husband even had the woman next to him turn round and practically jump on him at one point, and she constantly kept grabbing his knee.

The theatre itself is quite small and the seats don’t give you much room for movement. However, if you fancy seeing something different, that is not a musical and like ghost stories this is one for you.

OH MY GOODNESS. I went to see this when I was quite young, and it scared the pants off me! Definately worth going to see…..

I still get chills when I think about it too much!

The Woman In Black is the second-longest running play in London, after The Mousetrap. I’ve seen it twice. It is freakin’ scary.

The Fortune Theatre is not opulent like some others. It’s old, dark and creaky, with cramped seats close to the stage. It suits the play.

If what’s hinted at, rather than what’s shown, scares you, then this will scare you. If sudden shocks make you scream, you will scream (a couple of times). If tales of ghosts and revenge send a shiver up your spine, expect to be rattling in your seat.

It’s been playing for long enough that you should be able to get some discounted tickets, so do some Googling, but go see it.

Went to see this for Halloween this past weekend. And it gave us the chills. Action starts slowly, but builds up and up in a crescendo of … well you’ll have to get a ticket to find out. I should not spoil the experience for anyone.
All I can say is that it was definitely worth the £25 Upper Circle tickets (despite the seats being incredibly cramped) and even though I have no desire to see it again (it is scary) I would definitely recommend it as it truly is an amazing performance.