ON its official website, The Woman in Black claims to be “the most terrifying live theatre experience in the world.”

Having been performed in the West End for 23 years, the production is now on a 25 year anniversary tour, which includes the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.

For anyone who enjoys a decent ghost story, this one certainly has the scare-factor. The audience was literally jumping out of their seats in fright, clinging on to each other and covering their eyes in terror, unable to fully watch the drama unfolding right in front of them.

At the West End, the show is performed in a small theatre, adding to the intensity for the audience. The New Victoria Theatre is somewhat larger, creating doubts that it would be as effective. But the acting by Julian Forsyth (Arthur Kipps) and Antony Eden (The Actor) is so gripping; you completely forget you are in a theatre at all.

With a cast of just two men, the story tells that of Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor who is summoned to attend Eel Marsh House, the home of the late Alice Drablow. But when he attends her funeral, he catches a glimpse of a young woman whose face is wasting away, the skin taut across her bones, which injects a sense of unease in him.

There are gasps of horror when she first appears on stage as a dark figure, covered by a long, black cloak, eerily gliding past. And from that moment, the audience is on edge, anticipating her return.

The show uses every trick to scare the audience, but in a clever, original way, which leaves a chilling feeling among those watching. Horrific screams echo around the auditorium and the acting is transported to the back of the theatre, where it is least expected.

The story is told by Arthur as an elderly man, recounting his experience to an actor, who plays him in a reconstruction of what happened, with the aim of exorcising the ghosts of the past. But the consequence of their actions results in a tragedy revealed in a twist at the end of the play.