The Woman in Black

[mrs_emma_peel]

The Woman in Black

BBC Radio 7 … Tuesday, 10th November, 2009 to Friday, 13th November, 2009 at 6pm and Midnight



Tuesday, 10th November, 2009 … Part 1: A Journey and a Funeral

Wednesday, 11th November, 2009 … Part 2: A Causeway and a Pony Trap

Thursday, 12th November, 2009 … Part 3: A Nursery and a Child

Friday, 13th November, 2009 … Part 4: Letters and Death Certificates



This is a superb full-cast radio adaptation of one of the most chillingly terrifying ghost stories ever written ...







Susan Hill’s brilliant 1983 ghost story … a long-running theatre success and ITV's Christmas Eve 1989 Nigel Kneale's masterpiece of television adaptation … has also been adapted for BBC radio in four 30 minute parts by Jon Strickland.



A young solicitor, Arthur Kipps (Robert Glenister), is sent to sort through the effects of a recently deceased recluse, Mrs Drablow. The following day, attending the old lady’s funeral, Kipps observes a strange, silent woman dressed entirely in black, who creates a creeping sense of unease.

This chillingly atmospheric ghost story co-stars John Woodvine and Paula Tilbrook.



Proud, remote and solitary, Eel Marsh House surveys the windswept reaches of the salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral Mrs Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows.



It is not until he glimpses a young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black - and her terrible purpose.



The Woman in Black was produced by Chris Wallis and first broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in December, 1993.

Sources: BBC7 Newsletter/DigiGuide/Amazon.co.uk

[Edward G]

Thanks for the nod, Mrs Peel.

I love a good ghost story.

Will sleep with the lights on after listening....

[batman]

name='Edward G']Thanks for the nod, Mrs Peel.

I love a good ghost story.

Will sleep with the lights on after listening....

Also try and catch the stage show or, better still, read the book. The film version is also excellent. Woman in Black is the only story I know which works effectively in all mediums (pun intended). The radio adaptation is the least effective as it breaks up the story, lessening the tension. It's still a cracking listen though.

[will.15]

The Christmas Carol also works in all media.

[batman]

name='will.15']The Christmas Carol also works in all media.

I have only seen a couple of stage productions but both were less than impressive.

[Melanie]

I'll be listening. Thanks for the heads up

[Windthrop]

That play must be the best theatrical investment since The Mousetrap

[jaycad]

name='Windthrop']That play must be the best theatrical investment since The Mousetrap

definitely! especially since it only has two(and a brief apperance from 'the woman in black' herself) actors and a limited stage set!

[Windthrop]

name='jaycad']definitely! especially since it only has two(and a brief apperance from 'the woman in black' herself) actors and a limited stage set!

Yes but what are thechances of that happening again. You just don't get long running plays in the west end anymore. Imagine someone of 18 taking a punt on The Mousetrap in 1952 and never working again and still getting an income off it a 75 today

[jaycad]

name='Windthrop']Yes but what are thechances of that happening again. You just don't get long running plays in the west end anymore. Imagine someone of 18 taking a punt on The Mousetrap in 1952 and never working again and still getting an income off it a 75 today

i hope to get to watch 'the mousetrap' next time i'm in the capital! i reckon 'the woman in black' will be another long running show-maybe not to the extent of 'the mousetrap' but i think it's been running close on twenty years already?

[faginsgirl]

BBC iPlayer - Susan Hill's The Woman in Black: A Journey and a Funeral

xx

[mrs_emma_peel]

An excellent atmospheric adaptation of arguably the finest, most chillingly frightening ghost story ever written ... John Woodvine is absolutely superb.
Emma

[faginsgirl]

An excellent atmospheric adaptation of arguably the finest, most chillingly frightening ghost story ever written ... John Woodvine is absolutely superb.
Emma

Yes, I have only listened to the first episode, I will listen to more this afternoon, but I am very impressed with it so far.

xx

[batman]

Don't listen in the dark ..... it just keeps on getting creepier! It's a very good adaptation of a superb book, a thrilling stage play and a really scary TV film.

[Windthrop]

Don't listen in the dark ..... it just keeps on getting creepier! It's a very good adaptation of a superb book, a thrilling stage play and a really scary TV film.

Even if Susan Hill didn't like Nigel Kneale's adaptation (which I thought superb).

[batman]

Even if Susan Hill didn't like Nigel Kneale's adaptation (which I thought superb).

Apparently she didn't like the changed ending ..... I, too, thought it was a superb production.

[jaycad]

i enjoyed the radio version too! on bbc radio 7 now is 'the ghost stories of walter de la mare'-may be worth listening to!

[mrs_emma_peel]

The nights are drawing in ... and the new feature film is due for release soon ... so this is a very welcome repeat broadcast of this superb 4 part BBC full cast radio adaptation of Susan Hill's chilling ghost story.
Emma

The Woman in Black ... BBC Radio4 Extra ...
Tuesday 27th September to Friday 30th September at 6.30pm and 12.30am

Susan Hill's four-part horror story is dramatised by Jon Strickland. Retired solicitor Arthur Kipps hopes to exorcise a ghost from the past as he provides a chilling account of his terrible experience with a strange female figure dressed in black.

1) A Journey and a Funeral
2) A Causeway and a Pony Trap
3) The Nursery and a Child
4) Letters and Death Certificates

Robert Glenister, John Woodvine. Jane Marlow, Paula Tilbrook and Jason Done, directed by Chris Wallis and first broadcast in 1993.
Source: BBC Radio4 Extra Newsletter