La Dama de Negro
(The Woman in Black)
Audience Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes with a 15 minute intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Not Available. English subtitles available.
Sensory Friendly Showing: Not Available
ASL Showing: Not Available
Sound Level: Comfortable volume, some effects may be loud for some patrons
Audio/Visuals to Prepare For: violence, murder depiction, unsettling images, depiction of ghosts
Reviewed by Natalie Shaw
As a kid, I hated ghost stories. As an adult, I tolerate them on occasion. As a theatergoer, I can most certainly enjoy and appreciate them. Something about the live experience makes it much more interesting, drawing upon empathy in a way that just doesn't reach us when we know it's just CGI. There's much more technique and creativity involved when it's told in a real-life setting. The first time I'd ever seen The Woman in Black, albeit with a much larger cast than La Dama de Negro was performed, I was flabbergasted! Seeing it performed in Spanish and with a smaller cast, was no less amazing. Inclusion Productions kindly provided English subtitles for their English-speaking patrons, and a scene-by-scene translated narrative to keep us on track, as well.
A simplified set with a coat rack, two small chairs, a large trunk, a wall and a door function as a multi-setting approach to the script. Additionally, drapery hung from the fly-space acts as a bedroom in which tragic silhouettes replay the traumatic story behind The Woman in Black (a shared role between Regina Amador and Alondra Estremero.)
Bismark Quintanilla plays the older Kipps, as well as multiple other roles throughout the telling of the story, which moves along in a narrative fashion, as both he and the Actor (Jonathan "Joty" Collet) he's hired to play him unfold the tragic events. Kipps chooses to have an actor play his role, given that the reenactment of the distressing events would send him into fits of terror once again. Despite his fear, Kipps believes, undoubtedly that people need to know about The Woman in Black, for the good of their own protection, as well as for his own validation and, perhaps, self-healing.
Quintanilla transitions between characters, seamlessly, with no two characters alike in any way. He takes special care of the physicality, tone and vocal patterns of each character, without fail or flaw. Collet's Actor is full of vivacious passion in his approach to storytelling with crisp, clear language and fluid physicality across the board. Together, they move seamlessly around the stage from one scene to the next, with a push and pull; give and take that any seasoned actor will recognize and praise. Amador and Estremero mirror one another's characterization of La Dama/The Woman so effectively, I would never have guessed one over the other. A slight height difference might have given it away, but, unless the two of them stood side-by-side, there was no way to tell that she was not the same woman.
Director Rodrigo Caraveo allows the plotline to unfold with the slightest hints of fright when The Woman in Black makes an audience appearance in the dark. Making use of two actresses playing the character allows for staging versatility through structure and creativity. Act Two turns up the horror volume with dramatic sound effects, sudden blackouts and heightened ghost encounters. I had yet to experience The Woman too closely until we neared the end of Act Two. (Flashback to me thinking I was safe because she was on the other side of the theater.) It wasn't until this moment that I felt the unnerving, frozen sensation of being in such an evil spiritual presence. (Please, Dear Lord, just don't let her reach out and grab me by the arm! You know I'll scream out loud!)
Inclusion Productions performances of La Dama de Negro concluded on May 16 at The Kalita Humphrey's Theater in Dallas, but we can, most assuredly anticipate their next venture! Stay tuned and keep a close eye on their website, inclusionstage.com
Enjoy the Theater,
Natalie
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