CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR UK AND IRELAND TOUR OF SUSAN HILL’S THE WOMAN IN BLACK
MALCOLM JAMES AS ‘ARTHUR KIPPS’
MARK HAWKINS AS ‘THE ACTOR’
OPENING
WEDNESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER
2023 AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE
PW Productions is delighted to announce casting for the UK And Ireland tour of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black. The production will star Malcolm James as Arthur Kipps and Mark Hawkins as The Actor, opening at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on Wednesday 6 September 2023. Following Wolverhampton, the tour will visit Cardiff, Billingham, Buxton, Aylesbury, Southend, Blackpool, Malvern, Richmond, Poole, Nottingham, Liverpool, Swindon, Norwich, Truro, York, Birmingham, Bradford, Brighton, Ipswich, Bath, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Dartford, High Wycombe, Crewe, Coventry, Belfast, Derry, and Dublin
Malcolm James returns to The Woman in Black having first played Arthur Kipps on a UK Tour and then at the Fortune Theatre. His other West End credits include The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre and Volpone at the National Theatre. His on-screen credits include HBO’s My Dinner with Herve, Secret Invasion on Disney+, the BBC’s Doctors and EastEnders, ITV’s Coronation Street and The Bill. On radio he has been heard on Letters to an Icon, The History Man and several afternoon dramas all on BBC Radio 4.
Mark Hawkins first played The Actor in The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre and The Madinat Theatre. His other theatrical credits include The Railway Children at Kings Cross Theatre, Julius Caesar at The Globe, the uk tour of Lady Chatterley’s Lover and the international tour of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. His television credits include HBO’s The Nevers and ITV’s Vera.
The tour cast is completed by Jon de Ville (The Sound of Music UK Tour, Netflix’s Scoop, BBC’s Strike) as understudy Arthur Kipps and Dominic Price (The Woman in Black) as understudy The Actor.
Over 33-years THE WOMAN IN BLACK played over 13,000 performances in the West End and has been seen by over 7-million people in the UK. In June 2019 the production celebrated its 30th Anniversary in London’s West End with a special gala performance.
Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s best-selling novel tells the story of a lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over his family by the spectre of a ‘Woman in Black’. He engages a young actor to help him tell his story and exorcise the fear
that grips his soul. It begins innocently enough, but as they delve further into his darkest memories the borders between make-believe and reality begin to blur and the flesh begins to creep.
Following a Christmas production in 1987 at a pub in Scarborough, THE WOMAN IN BLACK was brought to Hammersmith’s Lyric Theatre in January 1989. Reviews were sufficiently encouraging (apart from The Independent, who regretted the production’s inability to incorporate a live dog) to warrant a West End run. Its West End tour started at the Strand (now Novello) Theatre in March and moved to the Playhouse in April, finally lodging at the Fortune on June 7, 1989.
Throughout the production’s run in the West End and during its many tours the producer has been determined to keep ticket prices within the range of students and young people. This policy will continue in whatever form the play and production take in the future.
THE WOMAN IN BLACK is directed by Robin Herford, with designs by Michael Holt and lighting by Kevin Sleep.
For further press information please contact Raw PR Simon Raw or Emily Webb on 020 3829 0930 simon@rawpr.co.uk emily@rawpr.co.uk
www.rawpr.co.uk Twitter @RawPRTweets Instagram @RawPRTheatre
LISTINGS
www.thewomaninblack.com @WomaninBlack_UK
THE WOMAN IN BLACK UK TOUR LISTINGS
WEDNESDAY 6 – SATURDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2023
Wolverhampton Grand
https://www.grandtheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-woman-in-black/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 19 – SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2023
Cardiff New Theatre
https://newtheatrecardiff.co.uk/Online/tickets-woman-in-black-cardiff-2023 ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 26 – SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2023
Billingham Forum
https://forumtheatrebillingham.co.uk/show/woman-in-black/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 3 – SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER 2023
Buxton Opera House
https://buxtonoperahouse.org.uk/event/the-woman-in-black ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 10 – SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER 2023
Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-woman-in-black/aylesbury-waterside-theatre/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 21 OCTOBER 2023
Palace Theatre, Southend
https://southendtheatres.org.uk/online/tickets-the-woman-in-black-southend-2023 ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 31 OCTOBER – SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2023
Blackpool Grand
https://www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk/event/the-woman-in-black ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 7 – SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2023
Malvern Festival Theatre
https://www.malvern-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/category/stage/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 14 – SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2023
Richmond Theatre
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-woman-in-black/richmond-theatre/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 21 – SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2023
Poole Lighthouse
https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/event/the-woman-in-black/ ON SALE NOW
MONDAY 27 NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER 2023
Theatre Royal, Nottingham
https://trch.co.uk/whats-on/the-woman-in-black-2023/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 5 – SATURDAY 30 DECEMBER 2023
Liverpool Playhouse
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/whats-on/the-woman-in-black ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 9 – SATURDAY 13 JANUARY 2024
Wyvern Theatre, Swindon
https://swindontheatres.co.uk/Online/tickets-the-woman-in-black-swindon-2024 ON SALE NOW
MONDAY 15 – SATURDAY 20 JANUARY 2024
Theatre Royal, Norwich
https://norwichtheatre.org/whats-on/the-woman-in-black/ ON SALE NOW
MONDAY 22 – SATURDAY 27 JANUARY 2024
Hall for Cornwall
https://hallforcornwall.co.uk/playhouse-tickets-shows/the-woman-in-black/about-the-show ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 30 JANUARY – SATURDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2024
Grand Opera House, York
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-woman-in-black/grand-opera-house-york/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 6 – SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2024
The Alexandra, Birmingham
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-woman-in-black/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 20 – SATURDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2024
Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
https://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/the-woman-in-black ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 27 FEBRUARY – SATURDAY 2 MARCH 2024
Theatre Royal, Brighton
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-woman-in-black/theatre-royal-brighton/ ON SALE NOW
MONDAY 4 – SATURDAY 9 MARCH 2024
Regent Theatre, Ipswich
https://ipswichtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/the-woman-in-black/ ON SALE NOW
MONDAY 11 – SATURDAY 16 MARCH 2024
Theatre Royal, Bath
https://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/event/the-woman-in-black/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 26 – SATURDAY 30 MARCH 2024
Theatre Royal, Glasgow
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-woman-in-black/theatre-royal-glasgow/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 2 – SATURDAY 6 APRIL 2024
Milton Keynes Theatre
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-woman-in-black/milton-keynes-theatre/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 9 – SATURDAY 13 APRIL 2024
The Orchard Theatre, Dartford
https://orchardtheatre.co.uk/Online/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 16 – SATURDAY 20 APRIL 2024
Wycombe Swan
https://wycombeswan.co.uk/Online/tickets-the-woman-in-black-wycombe-2024 ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 23 – SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2024
Crewe Lyceum Theatre
https://crewelyceum.co.uk/Online/tickets-the-woman-in-black-crewe-2024 ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 30 APRIL – SATURDAY 4 MAY 2024
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry www.belgrade.co.uk ON SALE SOON
MONDAY 13 – SATURDAY 18 MAY 2024
Grand Opera House, Belfast
https://www.goh.co.uk/whats-on/the-woman-in-black/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 21 – SATURDAY 25 MAY 2024
Millennium Forum, Derry
https://etickets.millenniumforum.co.uk/ ON SALE NOW
TUESDAY 28 MAY – SATURDAY 1 JUNE 2024
Gaiety Theatre, Dublin
https://www.gaietytheatre.ie/events/the-woman-in-black/ ON SALE NOW
NOTES TO EDITORS
SUSAN HILL
Susan Hill has been a professional writer for over fifty years. Her books have won awards and prizes including the Whitbread, the John Llewellyn Rhys and the Somerset Maugham; and have been shortlisted for the Booker. Her novels include “Strange Meeting”, “I’m the King of the Castle”, “A Kind Man” and “From The Heart”. She has also published autobiographical works and collections of short stories as well as the Simon Serrailler series of crime novels. The play of her ghost story The Woman in Black has been running in London’s West End since 1989. She is married with two daughters and lives in North Norfolk.
STEPHEN MALLATRATT
Stephen Mallatratt (1947 – 2004) wrote his early plays while working as an actor in Alan Ayckbourn’s Scarborough company. Several of these were commissioned, produced and directed in Scarborough, first by Alan Ayckbourn himself, and later by Robin Herford, including The Woman in Black, which was first performed in Scarborough in 1987. 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 stage play has been translated into at least 12 languages and performed - at the last count - in 42 countries.
PW PRODUCTIONS
Since 1983, PW Productions has been responsible for producing some of the most successful productions in British theatre, as well as acting as general manager and production accountant to more than 600 productions in London, throughout the UK, and around the world. PWP has produced An Inspector Calls since 1993, and Susan Hill and Stephen Mallatratt’s The Woman in Black, which in 2019 celebrated 30 years in the West End.
Recent credits include: Spike (UK tour); Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage (West End/UK and Ireland tour/Berlin); AVA: The Secret Conversations (Riverside Studios); The Last Ship (US and UK tours/Toronto); The Jungle (St. Ann’s Warehouse, NY); An Hour and a Half Late (Theatre Royal Bath/UK tour); The Woman in Black (The McKittrick Hotel, New York/A.C.T. San Francisco) and the new musical Islander (Playhouse 46, New York).
Work with the National Theatre includes: Broken Glass (UK premiere); The Wind in the Willows and Oh, What a Lovely War!. With Matthew Bourne: Nutcracker! and Play Without Words (UK
and US tours/Tokyo/Moscow). At the Roundhouse: Michael Clarke, Stomp and De La Guarda. With the RSC: Krapp’s Last Tape with Edward Petherbridge.
Other productions and co-productions include: Rowan Atkinson at the Atkinson (Broadway); Amadeus with David Suchet and Michael Sheen (Old Vic/Broadway) and Lenny with Eddie Izzard, both directed by Sir Peter Hall; The Railway Children (Waterloo Station); This Is Ceilidh (Edinburgh/London’s Southbank); Chinglish (Park Theatre); Nigel Slater’s Toast (The Other Palace/UK tour/Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh) and the world premiere of James Graham’s Sketching (Wilton’s Music Hall).
