McCarter Theatre Center presents the Original London Production of “The Woman In Black”



(L to R) David Acton, Ben Porter. Photo by Jenny Anderson

(PRINCETON, NJ) — The Original London Production of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, adapted by Stephen Mallatratt and directed by Robin Herford, begins performances October 13 at McCarter Theatre Center and runs through October 29, 2023. Based on Susan Hill’s 1983 classic horror novel, The Woman in Black grew to global acclaim and terrified thrill-seeking audiences for 33 years on the West End, becoming one of the longest-running plays in London and inspiring a blockbuster film franchise starring Daniel Radcliffe.

“It’s unusual for a live theatre experience to make an audience actually scream,” said Executive Director Martin Miller. “I’ve seen The Women in Black on London’s West End, where it ran for more than three decades as a sell-out, smash hit. Trust me, the audience screamed. It’s exactly the caliber of production that McCarter audiences have come to expect, with high-octane thrills and entertainment value. Perfect for a spooky October night.”

In this gripping production, audiences will be transported back in time as an old man recounts the eerie events of his youth. Journeying into the misty English countryside, he grapples with settling the estate of a family entrenched in a tragic history that continues to haunt (quite literally!) anyone who dares come too close.

Time Out describes it as a “delicious spell of malevolence and menace,” while the Daily Express promises “a ghost play guaranteed to send shivers down your spine.”

Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen shares her excitement, stating, “We are thrilled to present The Woman in Black at McCarter straight from London’s West End. It’s a must-see for anyone who enjoys the spine-tingling sensation of being on the edge of their seat.”

With a combined total of more than 1,000 previous performances of The Woman in Black in London, New York City, and beyond, the cast includes Antony Eden (The Actor), Ben Porter (Arthur Kipps/The Actor), and David Acton (Arthur Kipps).

Ben Porter, photo by Jenny Anderson

Ticket Information: Tickets start at $25 and are now on sale at McCarter.org or can be purchased by calling the Patron Services Office at 609-258-2787. Groups of 10 to 20 save 10% and groups of 21 or more save 15% off tickets (zone restrictions apply.)

Princeton University Students can access free tickets with Passport to the Arts using code PUTIGER. More information on PU Student Tix for events at McCarter: McCarter.org/TigerTix

College Students can access $25 tickets in advance with code STUTIX. Tickets can be picked up prior to the performance with a valid student ID. 

The Creative Team for The Woman in Black includes Michael Holt (Designer), Anshuman Bhatia (Lighting Designer), Sebastian Frost (Sound Designer), Rob Mead (Original Sound Design), Nicole Silwinksi (Associate Lighting Designer)

Stephen Mallatratt (Playwright) June 15, 1947 – November 22, 2004. Stephen wrote his early plays while working as an actor in Alan Ayckbourn’s Scarborough company. Several of these were produced and directed by Ayckbourn at Scarborough, and commissions from other theatres followed. Comic Cuts was written for the Contact Theatre in Manchester and won the Thames TV Theatre Writers award, and after many regional British productions, culminated ten years later in the West End – retitled as The Glory of the Garden. In addition to original plays, he wrote adaptations of books for both TV and theatre – including Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, and Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca. His television work included The Innocents for YTV, and he adapted the Forsyte Saga for Granada. The Woman in Black ran for 33 years at the Fortune Theatre in the West End, and over a decadde at the Rafael Solaria theatre in Mexico. It has been translated into at least 12 languages and performed at the last count in 41 countries.

Robin Herford (Director) Robin read Philosophy and English at the University of St Andrews, and trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Much of Robin’s early career was involved with Sir Alan Ayckbourn, and the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, first as an actor, then as Associate Director, and finally a stint as Artistic Director 1986 to 1988. He has appeared in the original productions of more Ayckbourn plays than any other actor, including the enormous 16 play two-hander Intimate Exchanges, performing both in Scarborough and the West End. He is often asked to direct Alan’s plays, and has notched up over 30 productions of them, both in the UK and abroad. His most successful production started life in Scarborough. The Woman in Black, which he commissioned and directed in 1987, which ran at the Fortune Theatre in the West End for three decades, and has completed 12 UK tours. Directing, and occasionally performing in this play, has taken him, among other places, to Japan, USA, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

The Cast:

Antony Eden (The Actor) Antony trained at LAMDA and Royal Holloway. Theatre includes: Welcome to The Family (Alan Ayckbourn company, Bowness OLT); Relatively Speaking (theatre royal bath and tour); Family Album (Alan Ayckbourn company, Stephen Joseph theatre); Woman In Black (San Francisco); Harry Potter And The Cursed Child (Sonia Friedman Productions); Ten Times Table (Mill at Sonning); A Brief History of Women, Taking Steps (Alan Ayckbourn company, Stephen Joseph Theatre and 59E59 theatre, New York); Christmas Carol (Spinning Wheels); A Passionate Woman (Cheltenham Everyman and tour); Relatively Speaking (Bath Theatre Royal and tour); Three Kings (St James Theatre); Yes, Prime Minister (British Theatre Playhouse, international tour); Bedroom Farce (Oldham Coliseum/Harrogate); Springs Eternal (Orange Tree Theatre); Taking Steps (Oldham Coliseum); Carrie’s War (Novel Theatre, no.1 tour); Cider With Rosie, The Merchant of Venice (Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds); The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Voyage Round My Father (New Vic); Something Wicked This Way Comes (National Theatre of Scotland); The Glass Menagerie, Mrs Warren’s Profession, Vanity Fair, Trumpets and Raspberries (Lyceum, Edinburgh); Treasure Island (Belgrade Coventry); Swallow Song (Onassis Programme); Canaries Sometimes Sing (Oddsok Productions); The Measures Taken (Sphinx Theatre) Twelfth Night (Original Theatre co.); The Elephant Man (Sincera productions, Sao Paolo); Great Expectations (Unicorn); Hamlet (New Fortune Theatre); Les Misérables (West End). Television and Film includes: Say Nothing (Disney+/FX); Emmerdale (ITV); Chasing Chaplin (Film 4/Archer’s Mark); Derren Brown: Apocalypse (Channel 4); The Landlady, Kevin and Co, Kevin’s Cousins (BBC); The Bill (Carlton). He is also associate director on The Woman in Black and directs and produces with his own theatre company, Dead Letter Perfect.

Ben Porter (Arthur Kipps/The Actor) Theatre includes: The Woman In Black (New York / Nominated for the NY Drama League, Distinguished Performance Award) The Indian Queen (Opera de Lille) Stray Dogs (Park Theatre) Visitors, Boeing Boeing, Taking Steps (Oldham Coliseum) Ten Times Table, Improbable Fiction (Mill At Sonning) 1984 (West End / International Tour) Time of My Life, Absurd Person Singular, Arrivals and Departures, Communicating Doors, Life Of Riley, Surprises (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough) Orwell (Trafalgar Studios) Woman in Black (West End / UK Tour) Restoration (Salisbury Playhouse) Losing Louis (UK Tour) Bedroom Farce (UK Tour) The Tempest (Liverpool Playhouse) Silence (Arcola) The Invention of Love, (The National Theatre / West End) The Heiress, An Enemy of the People (The National Theatre / Ahmanson Theatre, LA) The Fall Guy (Royal Exchange), Edward II (Sheffield Crucible), The Atheist (Theatre 503), Disposing of the Body (Hampstead), What the Butler Saw (West End) Pocket Dream (York Theatre Royal) Beckett (West End), Victory (Théâtre de Genvilliers, Paris) Hamlet, Cyrano de Bergerac (Greenwich Theatre), Noises Off, Little Hotel On The Side, Rookery Nook (Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh) School for Wives, Macbeth (English Touring Theatre) Doctor Faustus, Frankenstein, Sauce For The Goose, On The Razzle (The Nuffield Southampton) Night Must Fall  (Theatre Royal Windsor); Hangover Square, In Pursuit of the English (Lyric Hammersmith) Bodies (Newcastle’s Live Theatre). TV includes: Survival of the Fittest, Manchild, Casualty, The Bill, Westbeach, Covington Cross, Crossroads, Side By Side, Hot Stuff. Film credits include: Rupert, Rupert and Rupert, School for Seduction, Young Blades.

David Acton (Arthur Kipps) David has performed in The Woman in Black at the McKittrick Hotel New York, the Fortune Theatre London, and on UK tour. Theatre also includes: many productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, most recently Macbeth and The Merry Wives Of Windsor; Gaslight (Mill at Sonning); Richard II (Palace of Westminster); world tours with Propeller; Anjin: The Shogun and the Samurai (Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama and London Sadler’s Wells);   Richard II (Old Vic Company);  Much Ado About Nothing (Peter Hall Company). TV:  Call the Midwife, Shakespeare and Hathaway, Emmerdale, 14 Diaries of the Great War, 18 Clash of Futures, Downton Abbey, Doctors, Hostage (Fire in the Desert), EastEnders, Silent Witness, Passage, Hollyoaks, Tchaikovsky, The Bill, Blair on Trial, Class of ’76, Casanova’s Love Letters, Fooling Hitler, The Wyvern Mystery, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Casualty. Film:  The Squadron, For Grace, Volume, Persuasion.

Important Dates

Preview Performances – October 13 at 8:00pm

Opening Night – October 14 at 7:00pm

Post-Show Discussions – October 15 at 2:00pm and October 21 at 2:00pm

American Sign Language Interpreted Performance – October 21 at 2:00pm

Open Caption and Audio Described Performance – October 22  at 2:00pm

An independent not-for-profit performing arts center located between New York City and Philadelphia – and on the campus of Princeton University – McCarter is a multi-disciplinary creative and intellectual hub offering theater, music, dance, comedy, spoken word, and educational programs for all ages. Celebrated for developing new work and winner of the 1994 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, world premieres include Christopher Durang’s Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike (Tony, Best Play), Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brother/Sister Plays, and Emily Mann’s Having Our Say. Equally revered for presenting renowned global artists on its stages, some of which include Alvin Ailey, Yo-Yo Ma, Samara Joy, David Sedaris, Hasan Minhaj, Terence Blanchard, Roseanne Cash, the rock band Lake Street Dive, Audra McDonald, and more. McCarter connects with the community year-round and offers on-site classes and in-school residencies. McCarter and Princeton University share a long history of unique partnerships and creative collaborations.