The Woman in White opened on the West End at the Palace over 10 years ago in 2004, with a star cast that included Maria Friedman and Michael Crawford. The story is based on the 1859 Victorian novel by Wilkie Collins, “A tempestuous tale of love, betrayal and greed, adapted from Wilkie Collins’ haunting Victorian thriller, this is the premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Zippel’s revised score.” The Charing Cross Theatre has its flaws as a building, where I was sat I felt very out of the action and the chance to really immerse yourself was sort of lost by tunnel vision from my seat.
The story itself is lacking in content, the show moves very fast but nothing really happens most of the time. Even though the content may be a little empty, the performances and direction knew exactly what they were trying to achieve and this is where the heart and success of the production lies.
Thom Southerland directs this production, the ups and the downs were portrayed beautifully and this innovative production, with Morgan Large’s set design, gives us drama and heart all in one.