NOTE ACTI

Please note that the issue of a licence to perform this A snnll Victorian theare
g.ta1 reguires thar any adverrising or
publiôity material
(including programmes) mustbear tnâ foUo#ng The proscenium has its gilding and its cherubs, and tlu curtains are
creOit:
gathered atthe sidcs revealing a stage that is unpreparedfor performance
TIIE WOMAN IN BLACK and devoid of scenery. On the stage is a clutter of ctoths, boxcs and
adapæd by
furnitwe. This clutter will evolve according to the needs of the perform-
STEPIIEN MALLATRATT ance-though shouldinclude a couple of chairs, arocking chair, a high
from thebookby stool,ablanlæt andalarge skiportrur*,.A gauze divides the upstage area
SUSANHILL from the downstage. Beyond it, though unseen unil Ht, odd. shapes of
furnitur e are shrouded in clot hs. The action, until stated, take s prac e in the
downstage area andin the aisle of tltc theatre. A door is placed at the side
of the stage. This door, which is presumably a remnant from some
Also by Stephen Mallanatt previous proùrctian, snnds firmly closed
published by Samuel French Ltd
The House Lights remain on and working Lights corne up on the stage
An Englishman's Home ...
A middle-aged man enters. He carries a manuscrtpL He stands on the
stage. This man,wlase namc k Kipps,will not be refened to as ,,Kipps,,
but as "Actor" sysn tltough he clearly isn't one
-
At the back of the tlvatre, in amangst the seats, ayoung man enters. This
man,who is an actor,will not be referred to as "Actor" but as ,,Kipps,,

The House Lights remain on as thc Actor on rhe stage begins to readfrom
his manuscript

Actor (reading) It was nine-thirty

on christmas Eve. As I crossed the long
entrance hall of my house, on my way from the dining-room, where we
had just enjoyed the first of the happy, festive meals, towards the
drawing-room and the fire around which my family were now assem-
bled, I paused, and then, as I often do in the course ofan evening, went
to fte front door, opened it and sæpped outside.
Kipps (from the body of the theatre) This is inænded to be of interest, I
take it?
2 The Woman in Black ActI 3

Actor Why, yes, of course. Actor Please, I

Kipps They why announce it as if it were the fatstock prices? Kipps No, sir. Atempt to leave and I will leap upon you and compel you
Actor ['m afraid I don't understand. ûo
-
recite the Sonnets in their entirety!
Kipps Iæt us see this entrance hall, let us see this house, let us taste and actor J _
smell this happy, festive meal! Kipps No! We'll make an kving of you yet.
Actor But that's impossible. Actor I have no desire o be an kving. All I wish, implore, is that this tale
Kipps No, sir! Draw on your emotons, and on our imaginations. of mine be told. Be told and laid o rest. God willing. So I may sleep
Actor Forgive me, I am not an actor. without nighrnares. -
Kipps No. (Paase) Again.Try itagain. Kipps Which is why you came ro me.
Lctor (reading) It was nine,thirty on Chrisrnas Eve. As I crossed the long Actor Yes.
ennancehallof my house,on myway from thedining-room, wherewe Kipps As one practised in these things.
had just enjoyed the first of the happy, festive msals Actor Yes.
Kipps You will excuse me. I know that what you read holds particular Kipps As one who will impart to you the rudiments of public speaking,
-
significance for you. That it is possible it will cause you some distess. who will offer adviceasto eryressiananddelivery, and, above all, instill
But I must implore you: have sympathy for your audience. in you the confîdence to stand up and make a go of it!
Actor Sir? Actor Confidence?
Kipps Just now we are alone here in this theatre. These rows of empty Kipps Yes, confidence! Now then. Nine-thirty. Christnas Eve. Excite-
seats are unlikely to Fotest as you hum and mumble through your linas. menl Anticipation. Crisp air. Crackling fres. Children asleep with
Butbelieveme, sir-speak them thusbeforean audienceand you'll see stockings by their beds, a happy family, content, delighted, and above
them one by one expire with boredom. all at peace.
-
Pause Pause. The Actor summons up his energies

Actor It was nine-thirty on Christmas Eve. As I crossed the long entrance Actor It was nine-ttrirty on Christmas Eve. As I crossed the long the
hall of my house, on my entrance hall of my house, on my way from -
on my way ... (p ause)
Kipps long ennance hall? -It was nine-thirty -
on Christmas Eve. (Pause) It was nine-thirty
Actor That's righL - Christmas Eve _
on

Kipps Why long? Kipps \Vhat time was it?

Actor Because it is. Actor Nine-thirty
Kipps Have sympathy for your audience. Are they interested in its length? Kipps Not on Christmas Eveby any chance? Good gracious!
- this clearly isn't a success, I
Actor I'm very sorry,
Pause Kipps You see, it doesn't come in five minutes. you think ûo stand up,
-
recite your tale, and have your audience hang upon your words. As if
Actor I apologize. I am clearly wasting your Ûrme. (He puts
his manuscipt that's all ittakes.In whichcase, whyd'you come tomeforhelp? Sothat
in his poclæt and moves to learc) I'll say, "yes, wonderful, without a flaw"? Believe me, sir, performing
Kipps Stay where you are. is an art acquired with tears and time .Iwouldbe encouraged, sir, if every
Actor This is a foolish adventure. I should never have come. time I offered some advice you would not put up your manuscript and
Kipps You did, however. And you have paid me for the day. I have no make to stalk out of the theatre!
intention of not giving you full value. Actor Advice?
O The Woman in Black Act I 5

Kipps Yes! Advice! I shouldeveragainrenew my acquaintance with mortal dread andterror

Actor [t sounds more like reproval. of spirit, would have seemed at that moment impossible. I took a last
Kipps I promise you that as the day goes on it's likely to sound more so. look at the frrosty darlness, sighed contentedly, and went in, to the happy
Actor May I just say itisnotaperformance that I wish !o give. No. I company of my family. At the far end of the room stood the tee,
-
think we are at a misunderstanding in that respect I wish to speak it candlelit and bedecked, and beneath it were the presents. There were
-
No more. For my family, only. For those who need to know. I am not a vases of white chrysanthemums , and in the centre of the room a pyramid
performer I have no pretensions to be nor inclination but
- of gilded fruit and a bowl of oranges stuck all about with cloves, their
those ærrible things that happened to me - they must -
| have to - spicy scent filling the air and mingling with the wood-smoke to be the
let them be told. For my health and reason. - - - very aroma of Christmas. I became aware that I had intemrpted the
Kipps You say you're not a performer. others in a lively conversation. "We are telling ghost stories just ttre
Actor Oh truly. thing for Christmas Eve!" And so they were -
vying with each other
Kipps In your hand is a manuscript which, on estimate, will take five -
to ûell the honidest, most spine-chilling tale. They old of dripping stone
hours to read. If you, as an acknowledged non-performer, should stand
walls in uninhabited castles and of ivy-clad monastery ruins by moon-
before an audience, however friendly, and drone at them for longer than
light, of locked inner rooms and secret dungeons, dank charnel houses
it takes toplay King Lecr, I trust you will be unsurprised if by the end
and overgrown graveyards, ofhowlings and shriekings, groanings and
of it they're either fast asleep or at your throat.
scuttlings. This was a sport, a high-spirited and harmless game among
Actor Five hours? young people, there was nothing to torment and Erouble me, nothing of
Kipps At leasr which I could possibly disapprove. I did not want to seem a killjoy, old,
Actor Good heavens. (P ause) I'd no idea I fi ve hour s? (p ause. H e stodgy and unimaginative. I turned my head away so that none of them
- -
slumps into a chair) I cannot possibly. (pause. At length he lool<s up. should see my discomfiture. "And now it's your turn." "Oh no,?' I said,
Addressing Kipps) Itmustbe old- I cannot carry the burden any longer. "nothing from me." "You must know at least one ghost story, everyone
Itmustbe told. knows one." Ah, yes, yes, indeed. All ttre time I had been listening to
their ghoulish, lurid inventions, the one thought that had been in my
Black-out.Whenthe Lightsreturn, the House Lights stay off. Kipps is now
mind, and the only thing I could have said was "No, no, you have none
on the stage, with the manuscript. Kipps reads itatherwell. A bit actorish,
of you any idea. This is all nonsense, fantasy, it is not like this. Nothing
certainly, butwithenthusiasrnand skill.Tlrc Actorwall<s to the backof the
so blood-curdling and becreepered and crude not so . . so laughable.
tlrcatre to listen - .

The truth is quite other, and altogether more terrible. "I am sorry to
disappoint you," I said. "But I have no story to tell!" And went quickly
Kipps (reading) It was nine-thirty on Christrnas Eve. As I opened my from the room and from the house. I walked in a frenzy of agitation, my
front door and stepped outside I smelled at once, and wittr a lightening heart pounding, my breathing short. I had always known in my heart that
heart, thattherehadbeen achangein theweather. All theprevious weei
the experience would never leave me, that it was woven into my very
we had had thin chilling rain and a mist that lay low about the house and
fibres. Yes, I had a story, a true sûory, a story of haunting and evil, fear
over the countryside. My spirits have for many years been excessively and confusion, horror and fagedy. But it was not a story to be told
affected by the weather. But now the dampness and fogs had stolen around the freside on Christmas Eve.
away like thieves ino the night" the sky was pricked over with stars and
the full moon rimmed with ahalo of frost upstairs, threechildren slept Pause. Kipps loolcs out to the Actor at the back of the tluate
with stockings tied to ttreirbedposts. There was something in the air thàt
night. That my peace of mind was about to be disturbed, and memories And then I thought you might recite the piece from Hamlet.
awakened thatl had thought foreverdead, I had, naturally, no idea. That Actor Hamlet?
 6 ale Woman in Black ActI 7
Kipps "Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes ..." agonizing task. The first part, the writing, I have done. Now comes the
Actor oh yes, ofcourse. (A beat)youthen, for thepurpose of ttrereading, lelling. I pray for God's protection on us all.
become me?
Kipps Quite so. And you
- for the purpose of theperformance _yoa Black-ow
draw on your remembrance, to be the people naiyôu met, those ihat
played their parts in your story. The Actor exits
Actor Sir, I am not a performer.
Kipps Sir, I know. The Lights come up. It' s the worker state again, tlnugh the House Lights
Actor And this must not&, enterrainmenl Those most horrible events are now dawnandremain sofor the rest of the evening. Kipps is on stage,
will notbe treated as amusement or diversion. I insist, sir! arranging the clutter offurniture into some order that can pass
Kipps And / insist, thæ you consider your audience. No matter how for a
solicitor' s office. The skip suggests a large partners' desk
honible, if your tale is to be heard, it must be offered in a form that is
remotely palatable. You have come for advice and assistance, you The Actor enters
must
tnrst me. (Pause) From here, if you please.
Good-morning!
The Actor climbs relucnntly on to tlv stage Actor Good-moming.
Kipps I trust you slept well?
And let us show that we mean business ... Actor Thank you, yes.
Kipps No nightmares?
Kipps switches off the worlærs, leaving them in a performance state Actor Not too bad,I thank you.
Kipps Ah. So we are not clear of it yet?
So your cue is " ... fear and confusion, horror and tragedy. But Actor I fear I never will be.
it was not
a story to be told around the fireside on Christmas Eve." Kipps V/e'll have you playful as a lamb again, you mark my words. Did
Actor (readingfrom a copy of the manuscript) you study as I asked you?
"Some say ttrat ever'gainst that season comes Actor As best I can you must excuse me, it is not my ... forte.
'Wherein
our Saviour's birth is celebrated, Kipps We'll make an - hving of you yet.
This bird of dawning singeth all nighr long. Actor (irritably)ltave no wish to be an Irving.
And tlen, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad, Kipps No. But for the sake of our audience, let us at least try.
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike, actor This audience you speak of it is to be just my family and friends?
No Fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm - spectacle
You don't intend to make a public
So hallowed and so gracious is that time." Kipps Good heavens, no. Your family, your friends. perhaps the odd
Kipps Those lines came into my head as if from heaven, and great peace
a theatre manager, but ... Now then -
scene: London. Interior of the
c:rme upon me. I recailed that the rvay to banish an ord ghosi
that offices of solicitors B entley, Haigh, -weetman and Bentley. And I have
S
continues its hauntings is to exorcise iL well, then. Mine little surprise for you.
shourd be a
exorcised.I shouldtert my tare. Ishould setitdown onpaper, with Actor What's that?
every
care and in every detail. I wourd write my own ghost Kipps Thank you, Mr Bunce! (He cliclcs his fingers to the back of
story, and then, that the
they might know and ttrat I might be forevér purged of it, relive it tlnatre)
through the ælling.Iprayeda heartfelr, simple prayeiforpeace
of mind,
and for strength and steadfastness to endure *hile-I compteteo
ttre mosi Instantly come the sound effects ofa London street: cars, horses, shouts
 8 The Woman in Black ActI 9

from street vendors, etc.The Actor is momcntarily amazed. He listensfor enthusidsmfor tlrc taskwill grow throughthe earlyputof the enactment,
awhile, then ..
in spite of hk protestations
Actor Recorded sound! A foul day, Tomes.
Kipps Precisely. A remarkable invention, is it not?
Tomes Yes, MrKipps.(He sniffs'|
actor Exnaordinarily true to life! I could swear I was in a rondon street,
Kipps November. The drearest month of the year. Lowering to the spirits.
aftempting to negotiate the thundering traffic!
Tones Yes, Mr Kipps. (He snifs') This fog don't help.
Kipps And so, Mr Kipps, will o'r audience. No need to speak of cars and
Kipps (looking up from his & sk to address the audience)The thickest of
trams and horses, smoke and gime. No need in fact, for words. Just
let Inndon pea-soupers. A yellow fog. A filthy, evil-smelling fog, a fog
the recorded sound be heard and they are there. Transported.
that choked and blinded, smeared and stained" I worked at some dull
Actor But the scene is to be in an office, is it not? Why do we have details of theconveyancing of propertyleases, forgeful forthe moment
I-ondon's traffic flowing through an office?
of it pressing against the window like a furred beast at my back
Kipps Why indeed? Mr Bunce! (He clicks hisfingers again)
Tomes learcs his ledger, moves to Kipps's desk and kraclcs on it. Kipps
At once tltc traffi,c sound begins tofade and dissolves into the sonorous
looks up
ticking of a bng-case clock
Tomes Mr Bentley wishes to see you, sir.
ltctor (Iistening with a certain amount of awe) Remarkable.
Kipps Suaight away?
Tomes Straight away, sir, if you would. (He sniffs)
The clockfades out. The street sounds return
Kipps (addressing the audience)That sniff, incidentally, occurred every
twenty seconds, for which reason Tomes wzts confined, in general, to a
Kipps (with a superior smile) The miracle of science, the hands of Bunce. cubbyhole in an outer lobby.
He is particularly good at this sort of ttring. And so to work. I
am you,
you are your clerk. I enær briskly, you are already at work.
Kipps stands
Actor (preparing to perform)yoamust forgive me, this fu ns1_
Kipps your forte. Quite. And it won't become so unless you attempt
-
ir Begin. Jusr as we wenr rhrough it an last night. (cartin{ to tne bai*
Actor Whatnow?
Kipps Now you become Bentley.
of the theatre) I thank you!
Actor Oh yes, of course. (A beat) Do I do all right? Will it pass?
Kipps Excellenl We'll make an Irving sf
The London street souttd gives way to tlu sonorous clock Actor (angrtly) Will you be quiet about Irving!
-
Kipps Apologies. Carry on.
Kipps exits
The Actor sits the other side of tludcskfromKipps,becomingMrBentley
The Actor, alias Tomes the crerk, stands working at a redger.
His desk as lu does so. He polishes his glasses
might be the stool, or a pile of boxes. Whatever,it ,uggrri disconfort

Bentley Sit ye down, Arthur, sit ye down.

Kipps enters briskly. He tosses his briefcase on to the desk and sits
Kipps sits. Bentley spreads himself inarelaxedway,taking his time before
Kipps has learnt his part.The Actor struggres manfuily,readingfromthe
he speaks
manus cript' T he co nce it is that aI t rw u g h rhe Ac to r i s
una c c ompîis hed, hi s
 10 The Vy'oman in Black Act I 11

I don't think I ever told you about the exhaordinary lvlrs Drablow?
Bentley Since quite early in her marriage.
Kipps Children?
Kipps slwkcs his hcad
nôircy Children. (He rubs at thewindow parcs as a churchbell tolls in
tlu iistance. He turns)According to everything we've been told about
Mrs Drablow. (He takes oa lur will andwaves it at Kipps) Mrs Alice
Mrs Drablow, no, ther€ were no children.
Drablow of Eel lvlarsh House. Dead, don't you lnow.
Kipps Did she have a great deal of money or land?
Kipps Ah.
nenitey She owned herhouse, of course, and a few properties in Crythin
Bentley Yes. I inherited Mrs Drablow from my farher. The family has had
Giffôrd shops with tenants, ttrat sort of thing; there's a poor sort of
their business with this firm for... oh ... Qre waves his land, signtfying - under water. And there are the usual small trusts and
farm, half
ages)
investnents.
Kipps Oh yes? Then it all sounds pretty sraightforward.
Kipps
Bentley A good age. Eighty-seven.
Bentley It does, does it not?
Kipps And it's her will you have there,I take it?
Kipps lvlay I ask why I'm o go there?
Bentley lvlrs Drablow was, as they say, a rum 'un. ldave you ever heard
Bentley To represent this firm at our client's funeral.
of the Nine Lives Causeway?
Kipps Oh yes, of course. I'll be very glad to go up to Ivlrs Drablow's
Kipps No, never.
funeral, naturally.
Bentley Nor ever of Eel lvlarsh in
Bentley There's a bit more o it than that.
-shire?gl1
"-sl1i7s"
Kipps The will?
T hat the written convention of mi be vocalized, I sug
g e st nenttey I'11 let you have the details to read on your journey' But,
tlwt the actor mumbles and cougls tlvough 1fts ..-,, principally, you're to go ttrough Mrs Drablow's documents her
-
priuut" papers ... whatever they may be. Wherever they may be "' and
Kipps No, sir.
to bring them to this office.
Bentley Nor, I suppose, ever visited that county at all?
Kipps I see.
Kipps I'm afraid not. somewhat ... disorganized, shall I say? It
nenttey Mrs Drablow was
Bentley Living there, anyone might become rum.
may take you a while.
-
Kipps I've only a hazy idea of where it is.
Kipps A day or nvo?
Bentley Then, my boy, go home and pack your bags, and ake the
Bentley At least a day or two, Arthur.
aftemoon ûain from King's cross, changing at crewe and again at
Kipps Will there be anyone there to help me?
Homerby. From Homerby you take ttre branch line to the little market
fenttey I've made arrangements. There's a local man dealing with it all
town of Crythin Gifford. After that" it's a wait for the tde!
he'll be in ouch with
Kipps The tide! - But presumably sheYou.
Kipps had friends ... or even neighbours?
Bentley You can only cross the causeway at low tide. That takes you on
Bentley Eel Marsh House is far from any neighbour.
to Eel Marsh and the house.
Kipps And being a rum 'un she never made friends, I suppose?
Kipps Mrs Drablow's?
nenttey (cluckting) Come, Atthur, look on the bright side' Treat the
Bentley when the tide comes in you're cut off until it's low again.
whole thing as a jaunt.
Remarkable place. (lre stands to look out of tlu window) years siice I
went there, of course. My father took me. she didn't greatly care for
Kipps stands
visitors.
Kipps Was she a widow?
(waing towards the window) At least it'll take you out of all
his hand
this for a day or two. You'll reach crythin Gifford by laæ this evening,
 12 The lVoman in Black Act I l3
and there's a small hoter you can put up at for tonight.
The funeral is sound of a pony's hooves, I promise, nothing rn rhe world could say it
tomonow morning at eleven. clearer.
Actor Except apony and raP.
Benttey stands up and moves awayfrom the dcsk
Kipps [æt us not be finicky, Mr KiPPs.
Kipps (clearing the desk) I had ro inform my randrady that I would Pause
be
alvay a couple of nights, and to scribble a note to my fiancée
sælla to
whom Ihoped fobe married trrefollowingyear. Afteithatlwas Actor I have toown, therecorded soundis splendid. Itwasa greatsurprise
tocarch
the aftemoon Eain ûo a remoæ corner oflngrand of which, untit aiew to me.
moments ago, I had barely heard. Kipps And it does not stop now. There shall be more, much more.
Tomorrow we are on the tain. With more surprises. So now to wolt.
T lrc Ac tor, now as Tomc s, appr o ac he s Kip ps w it h a thi ck (He lwnds him some pages) You will study these,I have divided up the
brown env e ro pe
marked "Drablow" lines again. And you will see I have cut much of the descriptive
passages.
Tomes The Drablow papers, sir. actor But-
Kipps Thank you. (He takes rren) I must say, Tomes, for all it's Kipps Recorded sound, Mr Kipps. Recorded sound!
a strange
partof theworldl'm going to, thatit's areliif tobereaving
thi,
fog and unhealttry atmoqphere. "pprili'g The Lights fade to Black-out. When they come up again, Kipps has a
travelling bag, andfrom the sowtds of steam trains and general bustle we
Tomes snffi and goes. pause. Kipps looks across at the Actor are aware he is in King's Cross Station. The Actor reads from his
manuscript now withmore conftdence
(Cahing) And you still feel unsure wherher
to go through with this?
Actor Oh, certainly. Actor Nothing could raise his spirits more than the sight of this great
Kipps In spiæ of having just performed as you have done? cavem of a railway sûation, gtowing like the interior of a blacksmith's
Actor There are so many things we .annot represenl How
do we forge.
the dog, the sea, the causeway? How tt e pony and
__-represent tap?
Kipps With imagination, Mr Kipps. Our;s, and our audiônce,s. ' Kipps arranges his compartment and sits. He reads 4 newspaper
actor I would be obliged if you wourd inform me how imagination
will
create a pony and hap upon this stage. Beyond the windows it is quickly dark, and when the carriage blinds are
down all is as cosy and enclosed as some lamplit study.
Kip p s, wi th alacriry, swin g s the skip int o a po sition
e nd. o n to t he audi e nc e
There ure sounds of a steam train lwading north. Kipps, in great content-
Kipps Here, napl Qndicating the space infront of it)Here, pony! What ment, reads his tuwspaper, and loolcs out of tlu window' After a while, the
could be clearer? train slows dawn and draws to o halt as we luar "This is Crewe! Crewe
Statbn! Passengersfor Honnrby please change hcre!" Duing the next
A pause as tlu Actor surveys it dubiausly speech, lhe Actor puts on a great-coat and hat

Actor It doesn't instantly say ..tap" fo me. At Crewe he changes with ease,
Kipps But you ride it, don't you? And with a whip! And with
recorded
Kipps swaps his seat
 t4
The Woman in Black Act I r5
and continues on his way, noting
that the track hgins ûo veer towards Sam Daily Mrs Drablow.
tle east as well as heading nortt. tt
is onty wfren he comes to change
again,
Kipps looks up at hirn
Kipps swaps his seat again
Drablow. QIe points at the envelope')
on to the branch line at the small station
of Homerby, that he begins to Kipps nods
be less comforable, for hcre rt
, .i, i. ; g*;;; colder and blowing
in gusrs from the east with * *pt.urÀi*iirpon it, brearh, and the You don't tell me you're a relative.
train in which he is to travel the last hour;f djourney is ancient and
comfortless. Kipps I am her solicitor.
Sam Daily Ah! Bound for the funeral?
Kipps turns up his coilar Kipps I am.
ard rubs his hands against the cotd.Træ Actor
walks.along tlw platform, sees Kipps, Sam Daily You'll be about the only one that is.
and chmËi in by himas tla guard,
whistle blows s Kipps I gather she was something of a recluse? V/ell, that is sometimes
the waywith oldladies. They nrn inwards-groweccentric.I suppose
Kipps (nodding) It's a poor night. it comes from living alone.
Sam Daily I daresay tlnt it does, Mr
Kipps Kipps. Arthur Kipps.
S.ymue.l
laib nods agreement. Thc Actor is stiil reading at this stage, Sam Daily Samuel Daily.
-?
tlnugh becoming freer in performance

It seems I have exchanged onekind poor They nod

of weather for another. I left
london^in ttre grip of an appafling rog,ànà
op here it seems to be cord And when you live alone in such a place as that it comes a good deal
enough for snow.
sam Daily It's not snow. The wind'll easier.
blow itself out and ake the rain off Kipps (smiling rather smugly) Come, you're not going to start telling me
wittr it by morning.
Kipps I'm very glad to hear it. strange tales of lonely houses?
Sam Daily But if you think you-'ve
escaped the fogs by coming up here
-
mistaken. We get bad frets in nis part Paase
--you'reFrets? of the world.
Kipps
Sam Daily Ay, frets. Sea-frets, sea-misB. They Sam Daily (levell) No.I am not.
roll up in a minute from
the sea to land across the marshes.
One minoi" ir,, * .t."r;;l;;"
... (His gesture indicates n" tua-àin*ss
d;: Pause. Kipps shudders
s" ry"
if you'r9 saying in Crythin yoo
of the frets)Terribre.
--But I *on;i.* the worst of it. Kipps \Vell, all I can say is that it's a sad thing when someone lives for
Kipps sray there tonight, ai the GiffordÀrnrs.i
go our ro see eighty-seven years and can't count upon a few friendly faces to gather
something of the marshes (He piclcs "*por,o
up n''newspipe;,-;;;;;,
---- "r
Samuel Daily, and begins to r"odl '
'arer.
togetlrer at their funeral. (He rubs his hand on the window and peers out)
How far have we !o go?
The train puffs on a while Sam Daily (looking tlvough tlu window) Twelve miles. It's a far flung
part of the world. We don't get many visitors.
 16 The Vy'oman in Black
ActI t7
Sippt I suppose because there is nottring much to see.
yearis out. I am asolicitorlooking afær the affairs of Mrs AliceDrablow
Sam Daily It all depends what you mean by .hothing". (pazse)
B ut you ll
,

find everything hospitable enough ar crythin, r* ai it', prui,i of Eel lvlarsh House. Perhaps you lnew of her?
rinr" Landlord (a nwnrcntary reactianwhich he quicWy controls) I knew of
place. we tuck ourselves in witrr o'r bacls " on *itr,
to the wind, and,o.y
our business. QIe takes a cardfrom his wallet and hands her.
t
L fbpù Kipps It' s quite possible that her estate will come up for sale in due course.
Should you need anyone ...
Kipps Thank you. I doubt I shall. Whatever practical help I need I, Landlord I doubt whether even Samuel Daily would go so far.
m sure
the local agent will provide and I don'i intend to be here more than
Kipps I don't think I fully undersund you. I gather there is a farm a few
a day or two. - miles out of the town.
Landlord (dismissivel) Hoggecs! Fifty acres and half of it under flood
Daily looks at himin silence for the best part of the year. Hoggetts is nothing.
Kipps There's also Eel Marsh House and all ttre land surrounding it
would that be practicable for farming?
-
But thanks all the same. (He puts the card into his waistcoat pocr<ct)
Landlord No, sir.
The train swells to a crescendo as ttu Lighrc Kipps Well, might not Mr Daily simply want to add a little more to his
fade to a Brack-out, then, as
it-whistles, snaps off.Whentlrc.Lights cottu ip again, Kipp, empire? You imply he is thatkind of man.
t, aoargiig
tle furniture: naking a rnter rounge. The Actor rw, Landlord Maybe he is. But let me tell you that you won't find anybody,
to tn" ,iâi or
the stage and is donning an apron ^oiàa noteven Mr Sam Daily having odo withany of it.I'll wish you good-
night, sir. We can serve breakfast at any time in the morning, t0 your
Tloe GiffordAnrîr was as comfortable convenience
a hotel as I could have wished to
find.
The l-andlord abruptly leaves Kipps. A monent, tlrcn Kipps resntus his
Kipps loola aroundhitnapprovingry, settles inanarmchair letter.We hear hiswords as avoice-over-his tone is sligluly tetchy
and holds his
hands to the fire. There is a murmur of voices
the pubtic
from bar
Kipps's voice There seems to be a propensity for leaving conversations
My spirits rose and I began to feel more like to hang in the air whenever Mrs Drablow's name is mentioned. People
a man on holiday than one
come to aftend a fune$.-fIe takes out notepaper ond pen close up, change the subject or leave the room. I suppose it's inevitable:
ànd begins
to write) My Dearest glslh these small, out of the way communilies have only themselves to look
to for whatever drama and mystery they can extract out of life. And I
-
But at this the Landlord enters to interrupt him would think it not unfair to say that country people, particularly those
who inhabit the remoûer corners of our island, are rather more supersti-
L_andlord Are you tious, more gullible, more slow-witted perhaps certainly more
Kipps No, no.
a friend of Mr Daily's, then, sir?
unsophisticated
-
than those of us who encount€r the "meûopolitan
Landlord Ah. Not meaning ûo pry, only I saw you arrive in
-
experience" every day. Doubtless in such aplace as this, with its eerie
his car.
Kipps I met him on the ûain. He was kind enough ,o bring marshes, sudden fogs, moaning winds and lonely houses, any poor old
me from the
station. woman might be looked at askance; once upon a trme, after all, she
Landlord I see. He's a rarge landowner is Mr Daily. Buying up harf would have been branded as a witch ...
the
county.
Kipps In rhat case I may be doing business with him The Lights cross-fade to the worlær state. Kipps, no longer acting, sits in
myself before the
a chair, and talks across to the Actor
18 The Sy'oman in Black Act I 19

Kipps Admit it, Mr Kipps, secretly you are enjoying this. Kipps Yes indeed.
Actor I am very grateful to you for your assistance. I cannot say I am Jerome (ofering his land) Mr Jerome. Your agent here'
enjoying iL Kipps Of course. How d'you do.
Kipps MrKipps, every day you havecome here youhave grown in stature Jerome I trust you spent a comfortable night?
and confidence. Kipps I can't remember when I've slept so well.
Actor But this is merely p'ractice. What you call rehearsal. I fear it will Jerome Good, good. It's a sad business, ttrat brings you here.
be different alogether before an audience. Kipps Yes. Of course, I never met lvlrs p6$lev
Kipps Mr Kipps, sir! Jerome No. Ofcoruse.I don'twish to hurry you, MrKipps,butif wewere
-
Actor Yes? to step out now we'd be about right for time.
Kipps For all you deny it, you damn well willbe an Irving! Now then, Kipps Ah yes, of course.
tomorro\p I should like o work right through to the end.
Actor In one? They step into the sunshine. Now tlæ nurket noises intensify. Kipps looks
Kipps If we are able. How does that seem? about him
Actor I have a horror of iL \Yaæhing you, it is as if I relive it all, moment
by moment ... though you, of course, will never suffer as I did I must I must say, my first impressions of yow liule ûown are entirely
always tell myself that - favourable, MrJerome.
Jerome lt's a busy day for us, market day. They come from all over-
Kipps moves to him and gently tùcs his hand Kipps Though I'd like !o experience it in happier circumstances. Our
funeral garb seems at odds with the prevailing mood of the place.
Kipps But never think I don't feel for you. I have a child myself.
Actor You have? Tlv mnrket noises lull
Kipps A daughter. She is forn.
Actor And well? And happy? (looking about him'1ls it my imagination, or are we the subject of
Kipps I thank Providence. scrutiny, Mr Jerome?
Actor (eurcstly gripping Kipps' s hand)Love her. Take care of her. (A
pause as he looks into Kipps' s eyes) Well tomorro\ry. yes. Let us Jerome doesn't reply
-
work to the end. And, all being well, tomorrow / shall have a surprise
for you. There! Those men did you see? They turned away ttren they caught
Kipps Excellent! You have a theatrical's instincts, Mr Kipps, if not his my eye... and there!
-
enttrusiasm. Till tomorrow then! Jerome (walking away) It' s only a short walk to the graveyard, Mr Kipps '
Kipps (following and looking back over his shoulder) I feel like some
Kipps moves to go as the Liglusfade to Black-out pariah.

The Ligltts come up to suggest the dawning of a cisp, clear day, and we Jerome doesn't speak
lwar the hubbttb of the market place as Kipps attaches a black armband
to his sleeve . The Actor , as Mr J erome , comes up to Kipps . Lilæ Kipps , he Oh well. (I/esmiles) I suppose\ile mustlooklike apairof gloomyravens
wears a black tie and armband. The Actor has learnt his words and is no amongst all this, mustn't we? You and I, Mr Jerome, are the spectres at
longer reading the feast.

Jerome Mr Kipps? He smiles across at JerofiE who doesn't ackrnwledge him. The market
 20 The Woman in Black Act I 2t

hubbub fdes, and now their footsteps eclo as ttrcy walk. Tlu Lights dim Kipps is clearly momentarily shocked to see lvr, then steadies hirnself.
slightly, as iffiltered tlvough spreding tees. Tlrcy walk on The Actor does not look back at her, andwe can believe lrc does not see
her, nor btow she's tlvre
I take it she is o be buried in the churchyard?
Jerome That is so, yes. Forthis comrptiblemustputon incomrption, andthis mortal shall have
Kipps Is there a family grave? put on immortality. So when this comrptible shall have put on
incomrpton, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall
Jeromc glances as Kipps closely be brought to pass the saying that is wrifien, Death is swallowed up in
victory. O death, where is there thy sting? O grave, where is thy vicory?
Jerome (after a pause) No. At least not here, not in this churchyard.
Kipps Somewhere else? Kipps prils his eyes awayfrom her
Jerome It is ... no longer in use. The area is unsuitable.
Kipps (stopping walking; turning n lerome) I'm afraid I don't quite As he turns away, so slw moves back down thc aisle
understand _
Butthanksbe ûoGod, which giveth us thevictorythrough ourlordJesus
But Jeromc csrtes on walking. The Lights suggest the interior of the Christ. Therefore, my beloved bretlren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable,
church as we hear thefollowing voice-over always abounding in the work of the Inrd, for as much as ye know that
your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Priest's voice I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at
the latær day upon ttre earttr. And though after my skin worms desroy The church gives way to the graveyard. feromc and Kipps stand as if
this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myseti, looking into the grave, aver the edge of the stage. Birdsong is heard,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another. dissolving once again inta tlu Piest' s voice

This is followed by the echoing tead of the undcrtakcr' s men bearing the ldan that is born of woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of
cffin down tlu aisle. B oth Kipps and J erome turn upstage.T lE voic e-iver misery. He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were
fades in again with the Priest's voice a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.

Behold,I show you amystery. we shall notall sleep, butrve shall allbe The Woman in Black enters behind the two of tlum, upstage
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, (for
the trumpet shall sound) and the dead shall be raised incomrptibie, and In the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour,
we shall be changed. but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased.

As tlu voice-over continues, Kipps looks back into thc audience Kipps, sensing her presence, looks around. Again the Actor does not see
her
In the centre akle stands the woman in Black. Her clothes are black,
old-fashioned. she wears a black bonnet that partly obscures her For as much as ithath pteased Almighty Godof his greatmercy to take
face,
tlnugh,fromwlnt remains of it to be seen, it appears she st$ers-from unto himself the soul of our dear sister here deparæd, we therefore
sotv terrible wasting disease. she is extremety pate, the thinnest layer commit her body ûo the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust ûo
of flesh is tautly stretched across ler bones, and her ,""* ,rniAn dusL
backinto her head "y",
 22 TheWoman in Black
Act I 23
The-uoice-over fades down. Kipps turns
awayfrom the woman in Black
(At length)MrJerome, can you take my arm... I wouldbe obliged if you
and kneels to prayfementty ai ine gr*"rUi would loosen your grip a little ... if you can just walk a few steps, back
The Woman in Blackrnoves away to the church ... path ... I saw abench there, a little way inside the gate,
you can rest and recover while I go for help ... a car ...
The voice-over dissorws into birdsong.
At rength, Kipps crosses himserf
Jerome (almost shrieking) No!
and steps backfrom the grave Kipps But my dear man!
Jerome No. I apologize ... (He takes deep breatls) I am so sorry. It was
Kipps A verypoignantceremony. nothing ... a passing faintness ... it wil be best if you would just walk
back with me towards my offices in penn Street, off the sqwre.
Jeromc is silent Kipps If you are
Jerome Quite sure. Come ...
Tell me, that woman ... I hope she can find Kipps You quite worried me just now, I
her own way home ... she
looked so dreadfufly unwell. Who was Jerome Please, I apologize. It was nothing. Nothing at all.
she? -
Kipps (after a pause) Very well. (Pause)l gather you are ûo take me over
Jerome looks at him to Eel ltarsh House laær?
Jerome (snf7y) No. I shall not go there. you can cross any time after one
The young woman with the wasted o'clock. Keckwick will come for you. He has always been the go-
face, behind you in the church and
then in the graveyard here, a few yarOs between to that place. I take it you have a key?
_ irom or.
Jerome Ayoungwoman?
Kipps Yes, yes, with the skin s'etched over Kipps nods
her bones, I could scarcely
bear to look at her ... she was rall,
,t u""i"r-ryp"îrîî, _. r You will find Mr Keckwick perfectly obliging.
suppose to try and conceal as much "rn*, " of h",
as she could fu"",pooirfring. Kipps Good.
Jerorne boksfrozen, pare, his throat Jerome Though not very communicative.
moving as if he were unabre to utter
Kipps (smiling) Oh,I'm getting very used ro tlal
Is there anything the matrer? you
_ look unwell.
Jerome_ (cr length; in a low voice) tdid not Kipps clicks hisfingers towards the back of tlrc theatre. The Lights change
Kipps But surely
; a young woman.
to the worker state again
... (He turns)

The Woman in Black appears again I' m sorry, Mr Kipps, I have tD stap. (H e s hatæ s t he Ac tor, s hand, lo okin g
fervently into hk eyes) You said you had a surprise for me I had nô
(Pointing) Look, there she is again idea, no idea, it would be that. -
... ought we n6g 19 _ Actor No?
(r?r* grabs his wrist, evidently in an ex,emz of terror. He avoids Kipps That was the most remarkable coup de théôtre I have ever
looking where Kipps is pointing.kaw experienced. - -
ti[rii nt- in astonishment
The Woman in Black goes The Actor is clnnging into a greatcoat, cap and high riding boots

Actor No, really?

24 The Woman in Black ActI 25

Kipps I am devastated. Devastated. How did you manage it? Kipps climbs up behind Keclutick wha clucks at tlv pony, which then sets
Actor Well,I worked hard, I suppose. As you said: time and æars. (I1e off
smiles)
Kipps But from nowhere, Mr Kipps it was miraculous! How on tlv trap is under way) This is a remarkable corner of the world, Mr
-
earth did you set about it? - (As
Keckwick. (He looks abow him with eident pleasure) Sky, sky, and
actor oh _ only strip of land- This must be how those great landscape painters saw
a
Kipps No. Very well. I understand" One must appreciate the magic, one Holland, or tle area around Norwich, don't you think?
must not ask how the magic works. But I do appreciaæ ir (He pumps thc
Actor's hand) I assure you, sir, I do! euite, quiæ remarkable and Keclcvtick does not respond
terrifying! -
Actor (a little puzzled) Well, you're very kind, sir. No clouds at all today, though I can imagine how magnificently that
Kipps And you, sir, axe a Eue theatrical. huge brooding area of sky would look with grey, scudding rain and
storm clouds lowering over the estuary.
The Actor modestly reacts. A pause

They drtve on awhile in silence, Kipps continuing to gaze about him

Do we proceed?
Actor If you wish. It is quite startlingly beautiful, the wide, bare openness of iL This sense
Kipps And will there be more surprises? of space, the vastness of the sky I would have travelled a thousand
-
actor I will do my very best, though I cannot be altogether confident. -
miles to see this. I have never imagined such a place!

Kipps gives the Actor' s hand afinalfervent slwke then signals to the back They trot on, the silence broken by nothing but the sound of the pony, and
of the theatre.The Lights revert to aperfoftnance state.There is the sound
occasionsl, harsh, weird cries from birds. Kipps lateels up on the skip,
effect of a pony and trap as Kipps puts on more relaxcd clothes. When
alert, looking ahead
dressed, the Actor piclcs up a rtding whip, places the skip end on to the
audience, and sitsfacing outfront. Kipps looks at himaswe hear the pony
And that,I take it, is the Nine Lives Causeway!
draw to a halt and tltc Actor, as Keckwick, reins in. Kipps, after digàstin-g
tlu sight a manÊnt, nfins away as if looking for a ccr The Lights isolate Kipps andwe hear tla pony and trap as it rolls across

Keckwick (at length) Mr Kipps? Ahead, the water gleamed like metal, lying only shallowly over the
Kipps (turning to him)Yes? sand. A narrow track led directly forwards, and I saw how, when the tde
came in, it would quickly be submerged and untraceable. Then I looked
Keclewick says nothing, looks ahead
up ahead, and saw as if rising out of the water iself, a tall, gaunt house
of grey stone with a slate roof.
You aren't you're not Mr Keckwick by any chance?
-
The Lights come up on stage. Keckwick reins in the pony and disnnunts
Keclcwick nods
It stood likesome lighthouse or beacon or Marællo tower, the most
Oh, trat's delightful I was expecting a car!
- astonishingly situated house I had ever seen or could ever con-
ceivably have imagined isolated, uncompromising, but also, I
-
26 The Woman in Black Act I n
thought, handsome. For a moment or two, I simply sat looking about me Imagine now, aburial ground. Imagine fifty gravestones, mostof them
in amazement. I felt a sftange sensation, an excitement mingled with leaning or completely iailen, covered in lichens, mosses, scoured pale
alarm ... But I was not afraid- of what could I be afraid in this rare and by the salt wind, stained by years of driving rain. Names and dates are
beautiful spot? The wind? The marsh birds crying? Reeds and still nôw barely decipherable. Imagine him grown conscious of the cold, the
water? (Suddenly he moves n Keclcv'ick) How long will the causeway bleakness and eeriness of the spot' decide to leave, to go back to the
remain passable? house, to switch on a good many lighs, to light a fire' Now see him
Keckwick Till five. turn ...
Kipps Listen. It will be quite ridiculous for you to be driving to and fro
twice a day. The best thing will be for me to bring my bags and some Kipps turns
food and drink and stay a couple of nights here. That, way I shall finish
the business a good deal more effrciently and you will not be troubled. The Woman in B lack dppenrs ahead of him
I'll return with you laær this afæmoon and then, ûomorrow, perhaps you
could bring me back as early as possible, according to the tides. Involrntaily,Kipps steps backapace or ht)o,then stands as iffrozen.The
Womanin6lackk amongstwlatwe thinkof as the gravestones.It is not
A considerable pause until Keckwick nods his agreement clear tlwt slu stares at Kipps, nor that she doesn't

Or perhaps you would prefer to wait here for me now, though I shall be The moment is lvld in silence, then the Woman dips away and out of
a couple of hours. You know what suits you besL sielrt

Forreply,Keckwick climbs onto tlw skip andfliclcs hiswhip.We lvar the As on as s he do es, Kipp s ruslws after ler to look tlw way s hc' s go ne' H e
so
potty's lnoves dcross tlu gravel,fading into tlw distance.Tlu Lights stands at tlre exit, searching with his eyes, tlrcn 4t length rnoves back
isolate Keclcttick, and gradually fade, along with the pony' s lwoves. The tlvough the gauze. The Actor , meanwhile , Ias not lool<cd upstage
Actor climbs off tlv skip as thc Liglus bounce back. He tal<e s off his cap
and undoes his coat as he speaks Kipps Beyond the wall tre grass gave way within a yard or t\ilo to sand
und rh"tto* water. The marshes and the salt ftats sEetched away until
Actor And so, imagine if you would, this stage an island, this aisle a they merged with therising tide. I could see for miles.l\ercwas no sign
causeway,runninglikearibbon from thesaltmarsh through the sea, the at all ol the woman in black, nol hny place in which she could have
only link between the gaunt, grey house and land. Imagine Arthur Kipps concealed herself.
alone there now, a tiny figure, lost in the immensity and wideness of
marsh and sky, dwarfed by the house, alone amid the mysterious Silence
shimmering beauty. He feels the key in his pocket, but does not go
inside. Instead, he walks away from the house towards ûre fragmentary I did not believe in ghosts.
ruins of some old church or chapel. To ttre west, on his right hand, the
sun is already beginning to slip down in a great, wintry, golden-red ball; Tlrcre is sound ffict of Kipps runni;ng, the thud of his footstups, the
th.e
to the east, sea and sky have darkened slightly to a uniform, leaden grey. panting of his breath

Kipps scrambles across tlu skip and through tlw gawe.The Lights reveal actor By the time in
he reaches the house he is a lather of sweat from his
tlrc shroudedfurniture. A suddcn, hush cry from a bird startles him. We exertions and the extremes of his emotions.
hear its lottdly beating wings and the echo of its cry among thc ruins. Kipps
watches itfly away We hear the door of the house slæn shut
28 The Woman in Black Act I 29

For a long time he does not move from the dark, wood-panelled hall. He Actor He decides to leave the place till the following morning. It will be
wants company, and he has none. He wants lights. He needs reassur- an hourbeforeKeckwickreturns, and if he sæps out well he will beback
ance. Butmorcthan anythingelse, he needs an explanation. (pauge)For in Crythin Gifford in time to save him from tuming oul The causeway
he does not believe in ghosts. is still visible, the roads back are sraight and he cannot possibly lose
Kipps But out on the marshes just now, I saw a woman who whose himself.
form was quite substantial, yet Oh God - it
I cannot describe
| ... (He ftroves to sit. He takzs- a momcnt -to compose himsetf) T\e
- Kipps switclrcs off tln Lights ard locks up' Again tln sound of the door
expressign on her face ... desperate, yearning malevolence ... filled me slamming slut
with indescribable loathing and fear. And she vanished in a way that no
living human being could possibly manage to do. (pause) I did not Imagine him now, striding ahead, small and insignificant in that vast
believe in ghosts. landscape. As he walks he summons up the image of the black-robed
figure
A clock begins to strilæ, deep in the lCItue
-
Kipps looks back over his slwulder
'What
Actor other explanation is there?
himself shehadnotvanishedas he'dthought, butthatthere
Pause -persuades
must have been some slope or dip into which she had concealed herself.
For he does not believe in ghosts. He puts her from his mind, walks on,
Kipps (nnving about the stage,visibly putting the eryerience behind him) struck by the absolute indifference of sky and water to his presence.
Hall, staircase, kitchen, scullery. (He switches on a light. The butb is Then, from this reverie, he becomes aware he cannot see for more than
weak) Drawng-room, sitting-room, dining-room, study. a few yards ahead,
Actor Nothing unpleasan! no shades of Miss Havisham, no rubbish piled
in corners, no half-starved dogs or cats. A damp, musty, sweet-sour Kipps registers this in the dinaning light. He turns
smell there is but is that remarkable in a house situated as is this one?
-
Furniture- good, solid, dark, old-fashioned. Books, pictures, bureaux. and that behind him Eel Marsh House is quite invisible.
Kipps A thick, damp, sea-mist. Damp, clinging, cobwebby, fine and
Kipps opens the skip andtakes out bundles ofdocumcnts, scattering them impenetrable. The sea-fret Mr Daily talked of.
about hirn as the Actor spealcs Actor He must turn, retrace his sæps to the house, and wait till Keckwick
comes for him.
Bureaux. Desks, writing-tables, bureaux. papers, papers, in bundles, in
boxes, letters, receipts, legal documents, notebooks, papers. All of The Lights lwve dimnrcd to virtunl darkness
which he must examine. A huge task, and one which there is little point
in starting now, it is too late and he is too unnerved. Kipps The mist was salty, light and pale and moving in front of my eyes
all the time. I felt confused, teased by it, as though it were made up of
We see Kipps fînd a bonle of brandy, which he considers opening, then millions of live fingers that crept over me, hung on to me and then shifted
replaces away again.
Actor Sæp by slow step he goes, baffled by the moving, shifting mist,
Kipps (looking upfrom the skip) How one old woman had endured day praying to reach the house. A nightmare walk, until ...
after day, night after night in this house I could not conceive. I should
have gone mad.
 30 The Woman in Black Act I 31

Fade up sound of a pony and trap. Kipps turns in evident relief, as the outside is rnw full moonlight which shines on to the causewa'y and the
soundfades down, changes its apparent direction, swirts andfades as if actors. Kipps, on seeing Keclcwick, seems bewildered
carried on the mist
Keckwick You have to wait for a fret like that to clear itself' There's no
Kipps Keckwick! crossing over while a fret' s up. Unlucky for you that was. And after that
there's the wait for the tide. Awkward place. You'll be finding that out
T he s o und gr ow s near, the n re ce dc s. Kipp s i s bafited by it, at orc fast enough.
mame nt
seems to locate it in thefog, at tlrc next is uuerly disorientated. At length, Kipps What time is it?
tlu noise of the pony and trapfades akogetler, and away on tt e mar;h is Keckwick Nigh on nvo.
a draining, sucking, churning sound, which goes on, together with the Kipps I wouldn't have expected you to come back at this hour. It's very
shrill neighing andwhinnying of a lnrse in panic. And then another cry: good ofyou.
a shout, a terrified sobbing it is lurd to decipher, though it is cleai it Keckwick I wouldn't have left you over the nighr Wouldn't have done
-
comes from a young child. Kipps stuggtes blindly that to you.
forward afew steps
Kipps (suddenty) But what happened ûo you, how do you manage to be
Oh no oh no ... (Screaming ozr) No! No! No! Kectattickl here how didyou get out?
- -
Black-out.In the darkness,we heu thefront door slam.when the Lights Kech,+tick looks a long moment into Kipps' s face ' Then he clitnbs on the
return, Kipps is on stage in the house, clearly in shock. From the skip he trap once nnre. Kipps clintbs up.We hear the pony and trap set off
takes out the boule of brandy and a glass and, pours himsetf a largish
meaE*e. He sits for a nnment. He jwnps up andfeverishly starts to iatk (As he is carriedonthe trap) I fell into asortofûance, half sleeping, half
about the lnuse again, rummaging through rooms andfurniture waking, rocked by the motion of ttre cart. I lnew I had enæred some
hitherto unimagined realm of consciousness and there was no going
actor In despair and fearfulness he goes about the house, switching on back. That the woman by the gmves had been ghostly I now not
every light he can make work in the vain hope that their glow might believed, no kruw, for certainty lay deep within me' And I began to
-
be seen across the misty wasteland.- suspectthat thepony and rap, thepony and rap with thechildwho had
Kipps (pacln g restlessly) Every door was open, every room orderly, cried out so tenibty and which had been sucked into the quicksands,
dusty, bitterly cold and damp and yet also somehow stifling. they too had notbeen real, notthere, present, not substantial, but ghostly
also. What I had heard, I had heard as clearly as I now heard the roll of
Kipps arrives at the closed door. He stops the cartand thedrummingof thepony's hooves, andwhatl had seen-
the woman with thepale,wasted face,by thegraveof MrsDrablow and
Actor One door is locked. again in the old burial ground I had seen. I would have sworn that on
Kipps At the far end of a passage ttrat led away from three bedrooms on
-
oath. Yet they had been, in some sense I did not understand, unreal,
the second floor. There was no keyhore, no bolt on the outside. (ËIe ghostly; ttrings that were dead.
rattles it and kicks at it angrily, beating it with his
fîsts. Then, as his
anger subsides, he slides, sobbing, to tla
floor) Crnrmq

Tlu Actor is now dressed as Keckwick. He stands at the

foot of the steps,
as the doorbell rings. Kipps slowly comes out of his sleej, eviderxly
unrefreshed, stiff in his limbs, staggering to answer the tàtt. The light
 Acttr 33

Jerome There is no-one. t am quite on my ov/n. I cannot give any help

atall.
Kipps V/ell ttren, help me !o find someone. Surely the own will yield me
a young man with a modicum of intelligence, and keen to earn a few
ACT II pounds, whom I may take on for the job?
Jerome (in great agitation) I'm sorry this is a small place young
There is tlu sound of tlw busy market town people leave there are no openings.
- -
-
Kipps But I am offering an opening albeit temporary.
The Actor, as Jerome, sits working at his desk
-
Jerome (alnast slnutrng) You will find no-one suitable!

Kipps enters and knocks on his door Pause

ferome answers, evidently with reluctance Kipps (very calmly and quietly) Mr Jerome, what you mean is not that
there is no-one available, that no young person or older person for
Kipps MrJerome. -
that matter-couldbe found. You arebacking away from speaking the
Jerome Ah. Yes. (At length) T[on't you, er- won't you come in? tnrth of the matter, which is that I should not find a soul willing to spend
Kipps (stepping I tust you are fully recovered after your
iz) any time outatEel Marsh House, for fear of the stories aboutthatplace
experience at À[rs Drablow's funeral? - proving true for fear of encountering what I have already encoun-
Jerome Thank you, yes. Thankyou. æred"
-
Silence Silence. At length, Jerorne, in greal agitation, moves to look out of the
window, his back to Kipps
Kipps No doubt you're wondering why I'm here.
Jerome Keckwick came back for you.
Jeromc doesn't respond Kipps Yes.I was more grateful than I can say.
Jerome There's nothing Keckwick doesn't know about Eel Marsh
You see, I hadno idea-I don'tknow whetheryou had-of thevolume House.
of papers belonging to Ivhs Drablow. Tons of the sûrff and most of it, Kipps Do I ake it he ferched and carried sometimes for Mrs Drablow?
I've no doubt, so much waste, but it will have to be gone through iæm Jerome (nodding') She saw no-one else. Not ... (he stops)
by item, nevertheless. Itseems ttrat, unless Iam able to take upresidence Kipps (evenly) Not another living soul.
in Crythin Gifford for ttre foreseeable future, I shall have to have some
help. Pause

f erome's expression is one of panic. He shifts his chair back, awayfrom Jerone There are stories. Tale,s. There's all that nonsense. You can
Kipps discount most of iL
Kipps Of course. But not all.
Jerome I'm afraid I can't offer you help, Mr Kipps. Oh no. Jerome You saw that woman in the churchyard.
Kipps I wasn't thinking that you would do anything personally, but Kipps I saw her again. In that old burial ground.
perhaps you have a young assistrnt.
34 The Woman in Black Acttr 35

Jeromc turns suddenly to face Kipps, clearly most distressed by the Kipps Mrs Drablow's estate? oh, I shall soon have all ttnt in order.
conversation. Kipps decides to spare hisfeelings ihough I confess therewillberather more to do ttmn I had anticipated-
Sam Daily You have been out to the house?
Well, I'm not going to be put out by a ghost or several ghosts, Mr Kipps Certainly.
Jerome. My work has to be done. And I doubt if the woman in black can Sam Daily Ah.
have any animosity towards me. I wonder who she was? Is? (He laughs
unraturall) I hardly know how to refer to her! Pause

Silence Kipps To æll the ruÛr I',m enjoying myself.I am finding the whole thing
rather a challenge.
I must face it out, Mr Jerome. Such things one must face.
Jerome So I said. So I said once. A long pause as Daily regards Kipps. Kipps shifts uneasily and glances
- awoy
The Lights lose J eromc. Kipps loolcs with concern towards the Actor, wha,
in agitation, is dressing as Sam Daily once again. Kipps ttnves to him San Daity Mr Kipps, you are whistling in the dark. You're a fool if you
go on wittr it.
Kipps Mr Kipps, are you all right? Kipps If you mean you think I should give up ttre job I've been sent here
Actor I yes. Ye.s, I am. Jerome was terrified. to do and turn tail md run
-
Kipps (bringing him into the light) But you, yourself if would Daily Listen to me, Arthur. I'm not going to fill you up with a lotof
-
seem Sam
*omenis tales ... you'd
-
find those out fast enough if you ask abouû the
you are in a a state of emotion ...
Actor (a trace -ofpanic in hisvoice) I was. I was. My emotions hadbecome place. Maybe you alreadY have?
so volatile and so extreme, that I was living in another dimension. My Kipps No. Only hins and Mr Jerome turning a little pale.
heart seemed tobeatfaster, my st€p to be quicker, everything I saw was Sam Daily But you went - out there to the house.
brighter, its outlines more sharply, precisely defined, | ... (he stops) Kipps went
I there and I had an experience I shouldn't care to go through
âgain, though I confess I can'texplain it. It seems to me, Mr Daily, that
Kipps loolcs at him, evidently anxious I have seen whatever ghost haunts Eel Marsh. A woman in black with
a wasted face. Because I have no doubt at all that she was what people
Kipps Can you go on? calla ghost, ttlatshe\ilas notareal, living,breathing, humanbeing. Well,
Actor Yes. she did me no harm. she neither spoke nor came near me. I did not like
Kipps Can you go on until the end? her look and I like the the power that seemed to emanate from her
Actor Oh yes. Yes, I must. Let us go on. Let us have done with it for God's
-
towards me even less, but I have convinced myself that it is a power that
sake! cannot do more than make me feel afraid.If I go thereand see heragain,
I am prepared.
H e take s a few de ep br e at hs and comp o s e s hims elf . Kip p s ap pr o ac he s him Sam Daity And the pony and raP?

Kipps Mr Daily! Silence

Sam Daily Mr Kipps! How's things with you?
Kipps Very well, I thank you. Kipps So you know of that. (At length) I won't run away.
Sam Daily And your business? Sam Daily You shouldn't go there.
Kipps I'm afraid I'm going.
36 The Woman in Black Acttr 37

Sam Daily You shouldn't go there alone. Actor He lights fires, airs sheets and blankets,opens windows, draws up
Kipps It seems I can find no-one to come with me. blinds, and sets himself towork in one of thebays of the morning-room.
Sam Daily No. And you will not.
Kipps Good God, man, lvln Drablow lived alone there for- what was Kipps starts sorting the lettersinto piles-tlose to be dealtwith,tlnse to
it? sixty-odd years, ûo a ripe old age. She must have come to terms discard
with- all ttre ghosts about the place.
sam Daily Ay. rvlaybe that's just what she did do. (pause)Batyou,re set Kipps Well, Spider, have you ever seen a more worttrless collection of
on it? papers? I do believe Mrs Drablow kept every bill, receipt and Christmas
Kipps I am. card she ever had. (Hefondles Spider) There's even shopping lists,
Sam Daily Then take a dog. would you believe!
Kipps (/czghinùI haven't got a dog. Actor It was pretty tedious going, but he persevered patiently enough,
Sam Daily lhave. (He whistles, then bends and pats the,' do g,, )Takehet untying and cursorily examining bundle after bundle of worthless old
Bring her back when you are done. papers before tossing them aside.
Kipps Will she come with me?
Sam Daily She'll do what I æll her. Kipps worl<s on a ïnment, tlunyawns and stretches. He stands, crosses
tlu stage and.we hear the door slam. He whistlesfor the dog
Kipps pets her
Kipps (calling) Spider! Spider rabbits! (t1e rnoves through the gauze
Kipps What's hername? -
into the old graveyard)Last time I was here, among these graves, I saw
Sam Daily Spider. a woman. (IIe bends to tlrc dog) Where is she, Spider! Where is she, girl!
Kipps All right, I' ll be glad of her company, I confess. Thank you. Come, (He pats the dog, tlrcn stoops to decipher an inscriptian) In Ioving
girl! Spider! Memory ... Something net... Humfrye ... nineteen o-something ... and
of her something ... something iel Drablow ... (He contemplates the
Kipps and the "dog" move out of tlu light stonc a moment, thenwhistles the doù Spider!
Actor He returns to the house and to his task. Already the air is turning
!rctor (loosening his "Daily" clothes) Next morning, he crosses to the colder, the sky losing its light.
house on a bicycle lent him by his landlord. The little dog Spider
bounds behind. The sun is high, the very air seems purified and more We hear the door slarn as Kipps returns to his papers
exhilarating.
Kipps There they lay, those glitæring, beckoning, silver marshes. I could On into the evening he works. Spider is an excellent, companion and he
hear ttre mysterious silence, and once again the haunting, strangebeauty is glad of her gentle breathing, her occasional scratching or clatæring
of it all aroused a response deep within me. I could not run away from about in that big empty house. But his main sensation is one of tedium
that place. I had fallen under some sort of spell of the kind that certain and a certain lethargy combined with a desire to finish the job and be
places exude and itdrew me, my imaginings, my longings, mycuriosity, back in lnndon with his dear Stella.
my whole spirit, towards itself.
Kipps sorts through the papers, discarding many, saving few, as the
The Lights suggest the lnuse interior.The Actor moves to the sidc of tlw Liglus fade. When they return, he is in the process of cleartng his work
stage, to a position as plrysically remaved from Kipps as possible _ for tlu nigltt, putting things in piles on the floor
perlnps even to the body of the theatre
 39
38 The Woman in Black Acttr
When helooks
Kipps Another day or two and we'll be done. It's time for bed. Come, Actor In the morningheawakes to achangein theweather'
sky'
Spider! outhe canhardly rô tn"diuitionbetweenlandandwater'waterand
All is a uniform gtey, with low, thick cloud and a drizzle'
me' There was
He moves by a circuitous route to his bed. He lies do,,t n, covering himself Kipps I cycled back io Crythin, Spider bounding behind
at myabsence, and
with a blanket he has found ûnongst the clwter. Before the Lights go ii"r*, irom Stella, fun âf exclamations of regret
down, he reqches down nfondle the dog piâ"-* my responsibilitv' I had ttrg t1!t9r{s
wife refill mv hamper'
-purchased warming my inside
a good strong-orch, and with the leser
Y/ould Mr Daily let me take you home with me ûo London? I wonder. pocket, cycled back, whistling as I went'
after
You'd like Stella I'm not sure you'd like London. Good-night now. .lctor He works through the day, clearing paper after paper' then'
Good-nighr ,opp"r, diveniori, begins Ûo read some letters tre has found'
as a
They were
Kbd $itting with a stim packet of docwnents und letters\ summer of
And tlæ Lights fade to a Black-out. Suddenly, they return, via a slwft of dut"O Lt*."n aFebruary of about sixty
years ago urd the
fust from the manor house of a
naonliglu, and Kipps sits immediately upright. Silence the following year. They were sent
lodge in Scorland-
village some twenty miles from here, and later from a
(At length,whispering) What is iL Spider? What is it? Allwereaddressedto..Mydear,'or..DeatestAlice''andsignedforthe
a young woman
most part "J", bul occasionally "Jennet"' The writer'
Drablow' was unmarried and with
Silence. Tlun, from the depths of the house, comes a sound lil<e an una upp*"ntty a relative of Ivtrs
with parents later, she was
intermittent bump or rwùle. Kipps listens,frozen. At length, it stops. she was still living at
child. Ât frst, home her ;

Slowly, he climbs out of bed sent away.

Actor In Scotland, a son is born o her and she writes of him with a
-â"rp"rute give up the
(Whispering) Good girl, good girl ... (he moves awayfrom his bed) affection. Pressure is being put on her to
"tinging she refuses, saying over and over again that they will
fo,
The sound be gins again. Kipps moves cautiously through the lnuse. As lw neverbe "Oopion;
"niiO
Pafied.
does, tlw rrconlight appears and disappears through the many windows .
voice'over of ayowg
Gradually, the sound gets lotder as Kipps gets nearer, until, inevitably, As Kipps speales thefoltowing, lw is ioined by.the
o' dt' h'y t ak the ft r st s e nte nc e s in uni son'
he's drawnto the closed door.The soundis at its loudest now. Kipps has n orài rpi oAn g the sanu w T p e

not the courage to try the door, though it' s evident that the source of the tlun Kipps leaves it to the voice'over
so und i s b e hi nd it. H e s t ands as if par aly s e d o utside. T he n, from o ut o n the
marshes, comes tlu sound of a child's cry. Kipps swings around to listen Kipps "He is mine. WhY should I not have
Young Woman's (together) what is mine? He shall not go to stran-
Actor He gropes his way back to his bedroom, and looks out. There lie voice gers' I shall kill us both before I let him
the marshes, silvergray andempty, thereis the waterof theestuary, flat go."
as a mirror with the full moon lying uptumed upon it. Actor And then the tone changes.
Kipps But nothing. No-one. The slighæst of breezes, nothing more. else can I do? I am quite helpless' Ifyou
îo,rt g Wo-an's voice 'lMhai
and"Mo,ganaretohavehimlshallminditless.Isupposeitmustbe.''
The distant rwblefrom I n silence, Kipps move s
the room has now ceased. Actor But the last letter of all is written in a very small' cramped-ha1d'
your own' But he
back through the house, towards the room with the closed door. He iooog Wo*an's voice "Love him, take carc of him as
reaches it, there is no sound rww. He puts his lwnd on to the handle, is mine, mine, he can never be yours' Oh, forgive
me' I think my heart
hesitates, thenturns it.It does not give. He pushes against it slightlywith will break. J."
his shoulder. Nothing. Slowly, the dawn lightftlters up
40 The Woman in Black Acttr 4r

actor In the same packet is a simple document declaring that Nathaniel During tlrcfollowing, Kipps moves about thc room, picking up occasional
Pierston, infant son of Jennet Humfrye, is become by adoption the child objects as tlwy are mentioned
of Morgan Thomas Drablow of Eel IMarsh House, Crythin Gifford, and
of his wife, Alice. Actor Itisachild's nursery. Abedin onecorner, madeup and all complete
with pillows, sheets and counterpane, beside it, on the table, a tiny
Silence. Then Kipps suddenly swings round as if the dog is startled wooden horse and a nighttight. In the chest of drawers are clothes,
underclothes, day clothes, formal clothes, play clothes, clothes for a
Kipps What is it, Spider? small boy of six or seven. Beautiful, well-made clothes in the style of
sixty years or more ago. And toys, most neatly and meticulously ordered
Silenc e. Then the rhytlunic bun4o, bump, pause, bump, brunp, pause. Kipps and cared for. Lead soldiers, arranged in regiments. A farm, set out with
stands. He lrcsitates, then moves purposefut$
forwards. et once, fràm barns and fences. A model ship, complete with masts and sails of linen.
outside, comes the sound of a pony and trap A whip. A spinning top. Ludo.Ilalma. Draughts and chess. A morikey
made of leather. A cat of wool. A furry bear. A bald doll with a china
Stay wittr me, Spider, stay with met! (He talæs up thc torch and moves head and a sailor suit. Pens and brushes, inks and dice, a miniature
outside) trumpet, a painted musical box from Switzerland, and a black doll with
raggedy arms and legs.
Tlrc Ligh* fade and the only light is Kipps (holdins, with tendcrness, an obiect we cdn believe is this black
from Kipps' s torch as the noise of the
pony' s lnoves gets loud,er and louder as if coming right up to thc lwuse. doll) \\ey must havebeen here half a century, yet they might have been
Just as it seems tlw vehicle must come into our sight, it veers off the played with ttris afternoon. There was nothing here o frighten or harm
causeway andwe hear,asbefore,the sounds of itsubmcrging.The child, s me, there was only emptiness, a curious air of sadness, of something
cry rises to a screarn of terror, which is tlvn clnked and drowned lost, missing, so thatl myself felt a desolation, a grief in my own heart.
How can I explain? I cannot. But I remember it as I felt it
Silence
At length, he conus back out through the daor, finds a clnir , and sits. As
From the interior of the house, now distantly, we hear again the rhytlvnic he does, the wind begins to rise.Within a short time it is roartng around
bump, bump, pause tlu house. Then, from the darluess outside, comes the child's cry of
desperation and anguish. Kipps switches on the lights as:
Kipps moves inside. A light illuminates the door, and as we look, we see
it slowly open. The light is outsi.de tlu door, but not inside. Kipps Tlrc Woman in B lack leaves tlv stage momentarily glimpsed
approaches infear and caution, then shines his torch inside. ne wàiks -
through. The only ligltt conrcs from this torch, and we see by it tlwt the Kipps swings round in lwrror. As hc fues so, a lwge blast of wind hits the
ro cking chair is in motion- r ockin g baclcwards andforwardi
appar e ntly lnuse and tlrc Lights go out. Kipps begins to grope around in panic
of its ownvolition-andit k this thatwe lwve heard, echoing on'thefloir
bowds. As he shines his torch on it, it rocks ress and less wtil it siops The orch God help me torch, Spider. Where is it, girl? (I1e
-
fînds it) Thank God, thank
- the
But no-one had been ttrere! No-one! There was no way out of the room
-
except by the door I had come through, and no-one had passed me! He trips, the torchfalls and goes out. He linds it again but it is brokzn.
Then,in total darkness, he gropes his way back to tln nursery, lnlf
Pause panting, half sobbing tlw wind howling as lu goes, until la finds the
-
 43
42 The Woman in Black Acttr
Kipps I'm coming, Spider hold on, girl
nightliglt and succeeds in lighting it.The wind continues to roar about the -
lnuse. Kipps retaces his steps, out of the room, tlvough the lowe , with -
only tlu candle for light. He si*, his luad in his lan^, the candle by him Againtlvwhistle

Iæt it be moming ... let it be lighr Ïtrenhetoobeginstofeelthestickinessandunsteadinessoftheground

as itbecomes boggier.
Kipps Stay still, Spider still as you can
From outside, comes tlrc sowd of someone whistling
- as one whktles a -
aciôr fte is obliged to wade rather than walk'
dog -
Kipps llave courage t'6 coming
-
ætor fne tttle dog can scarcely tràtO- up - her legs and half her body
Spider...? her poinæd
have disappeared-beneath the whirling, sucking bog' and
head is nélO up in the air as she struggles and yelps'
Kipps snnds, and taking his candle, moves to oryn the outsidz door
Kipps Good girl good girl ..'
-
Who is it, Spider- who is it, girn
Actor Before off, as though after a hare. Running
he can restrain her she is Againtlvwhistle
low and fast, out of the house and away across the marshes. (He lies down' andfully
Kipps Spider! Comeback, Spider! Comeback! Keep trying, Spider-keep trying, good girl "'
extended, reaches for tlu daç)
Again the whistle. As Kipps moves violently forward, the candle is ActorHegrabsherneck,justasttrelastofherbodysiriks'Hehaulsand
wet
eninguished rtr"in. *i*, u strength bom of terror, he feels his grip on the slippery
iur give, the dog ùgins to slide away, then with a huge last effort
he

OragÊ his body backwards on to firmer glound'

Spider!

The dog is suddcn$ releasedfrom the mttd' Kipps rolls

back' exhausted
Imperceptibly, the dawn begins to break. Througlnu thc following, the
wind rages, and Kipps moves to the forestage and steps
Kipps (relieved and tearfuî)Oh, Spider, Spider thank God' thank
-
During the nen seqtÆnce, thc Woman in Black is engaged in rendering God...
tle nursery area an utter slnmbles. She is outside tlu light,yet we see
lur as a crow-like silhouette, violently flapping in the dark He lies a while in rtbnce, then looks rtp

The Woman in Black stands, looking directly down at

him
Actor He strnds amazed and bewildered, as Spider's small form recedes
into the great, open expanse. Then he runs as he has never run before! comes
He at her, then scresms. Thenfrom the back of tlrc theatre
stares

We laar Kipps' s footsteps, po unding furiously the sound of a pony and tap- Black-ow

She is floundering in mud. Fighting to retain herbalance from the pull The Wornan in Black exits
beneath her feet. She is yelping loudly
In the Black-out, the Actor, as samuel Daily,nwves
to Kipps and shines
Kipps Spider!
Actor Still just visible
- a torch into Kipps' s eyes, attempting to rouse him

-
44 The \Voman in Black Acttr 45

Sam Daily Mr Kipps Arthrn ... The full extent of tlu dcvasation is revealed
-
The Lightsfade up slowly as Kipps cotnes round Dear God in Heaven!

Kigps (fevoishly) The trap the pony and nap He picks up vrious brolæn objects as he looks arowtd him, and puts tlum
Sam Daily Just over there. I -still like to make use of it now and again down again.Then,in suddenfear, rmsfromtlv roomto ioin Daily
it's a pleasant way ûo tavel. (Pause) What did you - think? -
Kipps I heard others another ... The Actor, as Daily, moves tlv skip to represeftt tlw trap once tnore, as
-
Sam Daily Oh, yes. (Pause) Not Keckwick? Kipps corncs up to him
Kipps No.
Sam Daily No. (Pazse) You take care now. Sam Daily Come on then, Arthur, in you get. rJ/e'll be home in no time'
Kipps I'm better. I'm all righr
Kipps, as he climbs up, stumbles. Daily helps him, then clitnbs up himself
Pause
Spider come on no\il, uP! Gmd lass.
Sam Daily I had you on my mind. I wasn' t happy. It began to unsettle me. -
Kipps Isn't it quiûe early in the morning ...? ['ve become confused. The pony and trap dives off. As it goes into the fading light, Kipps looks
Sam Daily Early enough. I kept waking. As I said, I had you on my mind. back to tlu lwuse. There k no'one there
Kipps How sûange.
Sam Daily V/as it? Not as it seems to me. Not strange at all. Black-ow
Kipps No.
Sam Daily A goodjob I came when I did. Samuel Daily exits
Kipps Yes, indeed, I'm very grateful. I'm extemely glad to see you, Mr
Daily. The Lights return. Kipps draws up a clair to the side of tle skip using
Sam Daily People have drowned on tlnt marsh before now. it as a desk. He opens the packet of letters and takes thern out
-
Kipps Yes. Yes, I lnow that now. I felt that I was being pulled under and
the dog with me. (He starts zp) Spider .., Kipps Qeading a death certifîcate) Nattraniel Drablow, age six years;
Sam Daily She's here. She'll do. Now when you've come to a bit more, ca-useof death: drownng. (Reading another) Rose Judd, nursemaid;
you'd better get whatever you need and we'll be off. cause of death: drownng. (Reading anotlur) Jennet Eliza Humfrye,
Kipps Off? spinster, age thirty-six; cause of death: heart failure.
Sam Daily Ay. I came to see how you were faring in this Godforsaken
place. I have seen. You had better come back home with me and recover Silence
yourself.
Kipps (after a pause)Tharkyou. I shall gathermy things. I shan'tbe long. Samuel Daity enters with a decanter of whisky and two glasses' He sets
tlumon the skip and sits opposite
Kipps nwves tlvough the house. He finds, in prticulu , tlw small packet
of letters and documents he had been reading. These lu picl<s up, to getlvr Sam Daily (pouring a glassfor Kipps) Well, you have come a long way
withhis overnightbag. Heisabout to go downstairswhenhe seesthe door since the night I met you on the late train.
to thenursery ajar. He moves to lookin,strikingamatchbywhichto see. Kipps It feels like a hundred years ago.
46 The Woman in tslack Act tr 47

Sam Daily You've gone through some rough seas. parted from him, instead of easing, grew wol'Se and she retumed !o
-Crytftin.
She got rooms in the town. She'd no money' She took in
Pause.They drink sewing, she acted as a companion O a lady. At first, apparently, Alice
Drablow wouldnotlethersee ttreboy atall. ButJennetwas so disressed
just so
Kipps Do you suppose that poor Mrs Drablow was haunted night and day that she ttreatened violence and in the end the sister relented -
by the ghost of that woman in black? far. Jennet could visit very occasionally, butnever see theboy alone nor
Sam Daily Jennet Humûrye. She was her sister. ever disclose who she was or that she had any relationship to him. No-
one everforesaw thathe'd ûrrn outtolook sO likeher, nor thatthe natural
Silence affinity between them would grow out. He became more and more
attachèd to her, and as he did so, he began to be colder to Alice Drablow.
Kipps Do you suppose she had to endure those dreadful noises out there? Jennetplanned to take him away, that much I doknow. Before shecould
If such was the case, I wonder how she could have endured it without do so the accident happened, just as you heard. The boy "' fte
going out of her mind? nursemaid, the pony, trap and its driver, Keck\r'/ick
Sam Daily Perhaps she did not. Kipps Keckwick! -
Kipps Perhaps. (Pause) Was there something I still did nor see? If I had sam naity Keckwick's father. And there was the boy's little dog, too.
stayed there any longer would I have encountered yet more horrors? That's atreacherousplace, as you'vefoundouttoyourcosl The sea fret
Sam Daily That I cannot tell. sweeps over the marshes suddenly, the quicksands are hidden'
Kipps But you could tell me something. Kipps So they all drowned.
Sam naity And Jennet was at the house, watching at an upper winlow'
Daily shifts uneasily waitinglor them to return. The bodies were recovered but tfiey left the
pony and trap, it was held too fast by the mud. From that day Jennet
Come, we're a good way from the place and my nerves are quite sæady Humfrye began o go mad.
agan. (A pause, then, to give the lie a this last statement, an edge of Kipps Was there any wonder?
hysteria cormes in his voice) I must know! It can't hurt me now! sam naity No. Mad with grief and mad with anger and a desire for
Sam Daily Not you. No, not you maybe. r"',reng". She blamed her sister who had let ttrem go out that day, though
Kipps What arc you holding back? it was no-one's fault, the mist comes without warning.
Sam Daily You, Arthur, will be away from heretomorrow orthe nextday. Kipps Out of a clear sky.
You, if you are lucky, will neither hear nor see nor know of anyttring to sam oaity whether because of her loss and her madness or what, she also
do with that damned place again. The rest of us have to stay. We've to conmcted a disease which caused her to begin to waste away. The flesh
live with it. shrank from herbones, the colour was drained from her, she looked like
Kipps V/ith what? Stories rumours? With the sight of that woman in a walking skeleton a living spectre. children were terrified of her.
-
black from time to time? V/ith what?
-
She died eventually. she died in hared and misery. And as soon as ever
Sam Daily With whatever will surely follow. Sometime orother. Crythin she died, the hauntngs began.
Gifford has lived with that for fifty years. It's changed people. They Kipps Well, Mrs Drablow is dead. There, surely, the whole matÛer will
don't speak of it, you found that out. Those who have suffered worst say resL
least Jerome, Keckwick. (He pauses and helps himself to more Sam Daily And whenever she has been seen, in the graveyard, on the
-
whisky) Jennet Humfrye gave up her child, the boy, to her sister, Alice marsh, in the sEeets of the town, however briefly, and whoever by' there
Drablow, and Alice's husband, because sle'd no choice. At first she has been one sure and certain result'
stayedaway hundred of miles away. But, in the end, the pain of being Kipps (whisperi ng'| Y es?
-
 TheWoman inBlack Acttr 49
48

Sam Daily In some violent or dreadful circumstance, a child has died. It's awhirling nightmare, inwhich, at its climax, Kipps screams
Kipps \ilhat you mean by accident?
-
Sam Daily Generally an æcident. But once r nvice it has been after an Voices And now it's your turn ... I have no story "' A foul day, Tomes "'
illness, which has sruck them down within a day or night or less. Dea , don't y'know?... Ilave you ever heard of tlre Nine Lives Cause-
Kipps You mean any child? A child of the town? way? ... Stella. Scribbleanote to ... Dead, don'ty'lnow?"' One minute
Sam Daily Any child. Jerome's child. it's as clear as a June day, the next ... Sælla ... The Drablow papers, sir
Kipps But surely ... well ... children sometimes do die. .. She could hardly do otherwise, living there "' Is there a family
Sam Daily They do. grave?... Behold. I show you a mystery ... I did not see a young $'oman
Kipps And is there anything more than chance to connect these deaths ]. St"Uu ... Dead, don't y'know ... Keclavick will come for you "' How
with the appearance of that woman? did you get out!... I wouldn't have left you over the night "' Stella "'
You
Sam Daily You may find it hard o believe. You may doubt it. will find no-one suitable ... a woman ... so I said once "' a woman "' not
face ...
KiPPs Vlell,I another living soul ... a woman in black ... such things one must
SamDaily Weknow. awoman...whistling...awomaninblackwithawastedface...youare
- whistling in the dark... you shouldn't go there "" Drablow! "' alone'
you
But is
Silence shouldn;t go there ... dèad, don't y'lnow ... Stella!"' alone "' he

mine ... I I. SpiOert... I think my heart will break "' Spider!"' Come
Kipps I do not doubt, Mr Daily back! ... he can never be yours! ... a child ... s tella!... never ... Stella!...
in
hatred .... never .... a child ... he can never, never, never be yours!
The Lights begin to pulse and blur as the last verbal extlnnge is repeated Kipps (screaming) Sælla!
as a voice-over, eclrcing in Kipps's mind
A subsnntial Black-out. Then tlwre is birdsong which gives way to the
Sam Daily's voice You may find it hard to believe. You may doubt it. sound of a pleasure park- music, laughter, tnany voices - as 4 spot
Kipps's voice Well, I comes up on Kipps at tlæ sifu of the stage
Sam Daily's voice We know.
Sam Daily tuthur-- There is only the last ttring left o tell. s/ittrin a few weeks Stella and
child,
I
Kipps's voice I do not doubt, Mr Daily. were marrieâ, and a litte over â year later, S tella gave birth to our
Sam DailY fuûur- ason, whom wecalledJoseph Arttrur samuel, andMr samuel Daily was
his godfather. I never thought of the past, I was filled with
joy and
Sam Daily's voice We know.
Kipps's voice I do not doubt,Iv[r Daily. conlentment in my life. I was in a particularly peaceful, happy frame of
mind one Sunday aftemoon the following summer. we had gone to a
Sam Daily's voice We know.
Sam Daily fu'thur- largepark, ten miles o. so outsidelondon. There was a festive, holiday
air-about tlle place, a lake, a bandstand, stalls selling ices and fruit.
As Kipps falls, Sam Daily catclas him, lays him gently down and covers Families strolled in the sunshine, children tumbled on the gass. stella
him with the blanlæt, which is the overture to Kipp's delirium. In the and I walked happily, with young Joseph taking a few unsteady steps'
sequence, snatches of dialogue return to lwunt him, in the form of voice- holding on to our hands. one of the attractions on offer was a pony and
overs. Tla words are distorted, blurred, accompanied by sounds of the Uup oi which rides could be taken, and little Joseph gestured to it
pony and trap excitedly.

There are momentary glimpses of the Woman in Black we hear tlrc pony and tap begin to draw awcy. There is a babble of
conversation, snd the str,lins of tlw band playing a iolly tune
50 The Woman in Black Acttr 5r

So, because there was only room for two, Stella took Joseph and I stood,
watching them bowl merrily down the ride. For a while they went out lrctor Qtuzzled) My surprise was that I'd learnt my words'
of sight away round a bend, and I began to look idly about me, at ttle iippt î"., y*, you learnt them expertly, but the woman you found -
(Pazse) You
other enjoyers of the aftemoon. And then, quiæ suddenly, I saw her. ti,à u.t .rr. The woman in black. (Pause)Who was she?
yoo her come here and go
organnedit as a complete surprise - l4 face she "'
A spot illuminates the Woman in Black ùriougtr her part and ... a yoong *oman' With a wasted -
The pony and trap draws nedrer,we hear a child' s laughter, the sound of Silence. Tlrc Actor is startng at him in horror
t Iu band, v oi ce s. Tlw spo t lean e s Kipps and we wat ch the W onwn in B la c k
staing as if the trap is beaing towards her. Then, on a sudden movemznt Actor Ayorng woman?
from her, we he ar the rci ghi n g of a st artle d ho r se, s ln ut s fr om t he drtv er, Kipps Is there anything the matter? You look unwell'
shouts of tenor from the child, and then a lnrrifying crash
Pause
There is a second while the Woman in Black remains in the spot. Tlun
she is gone Actor (ct length) I did not see a young woman'

pause "'
(As the spot slowlyfindshirn)Ourbaby son hadbeen thrownclear, clear As the Lights fade, we lrcar again tlw rhytlanic bump' bump'
against another Eee. He lay crumpled on the grass below it, dead. And bump,bury, Pause .-.
ten months laûer, Stella too, died from her ænible injuries. (Pause)Ihad
seen the ghost of Jennet Humfrye, and she had had her revenge. You Black-ottt
asked for my story, I have ûold it. Enough.
Cunrmt
Silenc e. Then Kipp s cro sses and switc hes on the workers. The Actor conlÊ s
to him, andin silence shal<zs his lwnd

Actor (ar length) Thank you.

Kipps Thank you. (Pause) And is it done, d'you thirik? V/ill it now betaid
to rest?
Actor I pray it will. I thank you for your touble your enthusiasm
and your effort. Your emotion just now -
it was as if I watched myself. -
Kipps I imagined my own child... -
Actor (quicHy) Yes. (He shudders involuntaril) I pray that when we
show it to our audience, at LNt it will be done with.
Kipps Who is she?
Actor I beg your pardon?
Kipps Your surprise. She is remarkable. Where did you find her?
Actor I'm afraid I don't understand.
Kipps Your surprise, Mr Kipps the surprise you found for me.
-
Pause