In the stage adaptation of Susan Hill’s best-selling novel,The Woman in Black, a troubled lawyer, haunted by a curse he is convinced has followed him and his family for years, turns to a skeptical young actor to help him finally share the story that has held his soul in its grip. What begins as a seemingly simple retelling soon slips into something far more sinister. As they venture deeper into his most buried memories the boundaries between past and present start to blur in chilling ways.
The Woman in Black is brought to life in Stephen Mallatratt’s thought-provoking stage adaptation. It is one of the longest-running and most successful productions in London’s West End history with over 33 years and 13,000 performances. Seen by more than 7 million theatregoers worldwide, this gripping classic continues to captivate, unsettle, and linger long after the final bow. The iconic production is now in Toronto at the CAA Theatre until January 5th, 2026 with Mirvish Productions.
We check in with the incredible actor Ben Porter who plays Arthur Kipps/The Actor in this production…
The Woman in Black is a haunting story that has made audiences uneasy for decades. What drew you personally to this production, and what’s it like to be stepping into such an iconic story?
Ben: The show has a long history. It’s the second longest running show ever in the West End, so I’d seen it more than once before I first got to be in it. My first time was in 2008 in the West End and since then I’ve toured the UK and now here in the US. It doesn’t matter where we go, audiences always get scared and we always have fun scaring them. It’s a perfect show in many ways.
Can you tell us about the characters in The Woman in Black?
Ben: There are two actors onstage, one younger than the other. It turns out the older one has been carrying a terrible secret trauma for most of his life and is only now asking a professional actor to help him learn to speak it so his family might finally hear it and he may purge himself of it. But the actor sees a chance of something better. He persuades the hugely reluctant Kipps to play all the different people he met in the course of his strange and terrifying encounters with a violent vengeful ghost, while he, the younger actor, will play Kipps himself. As they progress the darkness of the story begins to envelop them both in ways they could never have imagined.
Some might think this is an unusual production and out of the norm for the usual blockbuster shows we see over the holiday season…or is it?
Ben: The Woman In Black Promises the thrill of jump scares and screaming, and there are even lots of laughs at times, just like a good blockbuster. But at its heart it’s more than just a scary ghost story. Through the telling of it, we learn why poor Kipps is carrying so much unprocessed grief and guilt, and we become totally invested in the man’s emotions as well as his fear. The story gets under an audience’s skin – that’s what makes it special and why so many people come back again and again.
When we think of chilling storylines we often consider the energy of the audience and perhaps the theatre itself. Have you experienced anything unusual while working on this production?
Ben: Well, as a British actor, I’ve been in my fair share of haunted theatres. In The Woman In Black we sometimes work in low light and its not hard to half see certain shapes that maybe shouldn’t be there in the wings or even in the auditorium… But I’ll leave it at that.
Without spoiling anything… is there a particular moment in the show that still gives you a chill?
Ben: No spoilers! It’s so hard to answer this one. The show is full of surprises and I’m contracted to keep it that way! But yes, there’s one moment gets me every time – and I’ll let the audience guess which one after they’ve seen it.
Do you have any rituals before and maybe even after each show?
Ben: Nothing very exciting. I suppose in a way, putting on the costume each time is a ritual when you feel yourself preparing to cross the line into another world. Afterwards, I’m either on an adrenaline high or exhausted!
What do you hope audience members will take away from The Woman in Black?
Ben: A feeling that not only have they been entertained and made to jump, but they’ve shared the experience with a room full of people they’ve never met before. In a world of algorithms and AI, I think we value these shared experiences all the more and there’s nothing like a good ghost story to make people feel happy they’re not alone.
The Woman in Black is now on stage at the CAA Theatre (651 Yonge Street) in Toronto until January 4, 2026. For more information and tickets visit mirvish.com
About Ben Porter:
Ben is the first ever actor to play both roles in The Woman in Black. He was nominated for a Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance in New York in 2020 for this production of The Woman in Black.
Highlights from theatre includes For the National Theatre: The Invention of Love, The Heiress, An Enemy of the People (also the Ahmanson Theatre Los Angeles). 1984 (West End/US Tour/Melbourne), The Indian Queen (Opera de Lille, France), Bedroom Farce, Ten Times Table and Improbable Fiction (The Mill at Sonning Theatre), Boeing Boeing (Manchester Theatre Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor). Orwell: A Celebration (Trafalgar Studios), Restoration (Salisbury Playhouse), Losing Louis (UK Tour), Bedroom Farce (UK Tour), The Tempest (Liverpool Playhouse), Beckett and What the Butler Saw (West End), Noises Off, Little Hotel On The Side and Rookery Nook (Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh), Happy Yet (Gate Theatre), Bodies (Live Theatre, Newcastle), Doctor Faustus, Frankenstein, Sauce For The Goose and On The Razzle (Nuffield Theatre, Southampton).
Ben has also worked extensively with Alan Ayckbourn at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough: including Time of My Life, Absurd Person Singular, Communicating Doors, and Arrivals and Departures, (also 59E59 New York). TV includes: Survival of the Fittest, Manchild, Casualty, The Bill, Westbeach, Covington Cross, Crossroads, Side By Side, Hot Stuff. Film credits include: The Circle: Awakening, Rupert, Rupert and Rupert, School for Seduction, Young Blades.
*****
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*Photos courtesy of Mirvish Productions