Showing @ King’s Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 27 Apr

Stephen Mallatratt’s theatrical adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel has now been showing in the West End for 24 years. It is a celebratory anniversary tour that has made its way to Edinburgh this month, enabling Scottish theatre goers to share in the hair-raising experience that is The Woman in Black.

Originally devised as a Christmas show to be run on a shoestring budget, it is these constraints of the original production that prove to be the show’s greatest asset. A cast of only two actors (Julian Forsyth and Antony Eden) play a wide variety of characters, as indicated by a quick onstage change into an overcoat or a new accent. A simple set becomes an office, a horse and trap, a haunted mansion all reliant on the skill of the actors and the collusion of the audience. Choose to join them on this journey and you will be rewarded with a glimpse into a claustrophobic world terrorised by demons from the past.

The genuine horror of the story is somewhat lost amongst the good-natured scares and shared relief of a roomful of people simultaneously jumping out of their skins. The programme warns of “sudden, loud sound effects” and indeed it is sometimes difficult to discern whether the screams that punctuate the second act are emitted by the audience or the sound system. It is not an effect likely to be duplicated by renting the DVD, and a welcome reminder of the rewards of live theatre.