Woman In Black returns to its old haunt at Bristol Old Vic

The Woman in Black is one of the most successful and longest running theatre shows in the history of London's West End, running for 33 years. But did you know in 1993, just three years into its epic run, it first came to Bristol Old Vic?

Ahead of its return to our theatre (just 33 years later) we took a dive into our archive and found a programme from that iconic production, which included a note from the show's adaptor Stephen Mallatratt.

In it he explains how Susan Hill's novel had such a lasting impact on him and how the production originally came to life...

"I first read The Woman in Black on a beach in Greece - amongst rows of bodies on the slow roast, the scent of Ambre Solaire and sweat, and the sight of half of Birmingham exposing itself. Flesh creeping there had very little to do with spine tingling. The initial triumph of the book for me was that, in spite of all that, it frightened."

"A couple of years later, when I was working as a resident writer at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, the need for a Christmas play arose. Looking for a change from the jolliness that takes regional theatre by the throat around this time of year, yet not wanting to entirely ignore the season by putting on Strindberg, the director Robin Herford and I thought a good, classic ghost story might fit the bill.

Susan Hill, to her credit, gave permission for an adaptation, although, I later learnt, she raised more than an eyebrow at the notion of a dog and pony trap on the stage. I was lucky to have Robin to work with. Ghost stories aren't that any in play form, and we were both a bit in the dark. His contribution to the play was much more than as director alone. I enjoyed writing the adaptation. I do hope you enjoy watching it"  - Stephen Mallatratt, 1993