Poster for the theatrical production "The Woman in Black" at the Varscona Theatre. Features a dark, eerie background of leafless trees and an ominous figure in black with a veiled face. The play runs from October 11 to October 27, 2024, with a preview on October 10th. Starring Julien Arnold and Geoffrey Simon Brown.

“The Woman in Black” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

The Woman in Black

BY stephen mallatratt, Based on the novel by susan hill

Running: October 11 - 27, 2024
preview: October 10th

DIRECTED BY Andrew Ritchie

Starring

GEOFFREY SIMON BROWN as Arthur Kipps
JULIEN ARNOLD as The Actor

ABOUT

Teatro gleefully joins the fun of Halloween Season with this terrifying and amusing horror thriller which only recently ended a 34-year run in London’s West End.
A lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the spectre of a Woman in Black, engages a sceptical young actor to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul. It all begins innocently enough, but then, as they reach further into his darkest memories, they find themselves caught up in a world of eerie marshes and moaning winds.

RUN TIME APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR & 45 minutes plus A 15 MINUTE INTERMISSION

SPECIAL TICKET PRICE PERFORMANCES

$25 PREVIEW TICKETS: Thursday, October 10th
$33 SUNDAY MATINEES: Every Sunday
FREE WINE & CHEESE: Wednesday, October 16th
ASL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE: Sunday, October 20th at 7:30 PM (ALL TICKETS ARE Pay-What-You-Can)

Harmless stage smoke and sudden, loud sound effects are used in this production

“A real theatrical spine chiller...A truly nerve shredding experience”
— The Daily Mail
“It’s profoundly effective and will scare the living daylights out of you!”
— Daily express

CREATIVE TEAM

Black and white close-up image of actor Julian Arnold with a beard, moustache, and combed-back hair, wearing a suit.

  • Julien Arnold (Arthur Kipps) Julien debuted with Teatro in 1990, playing Davina Stewart's hapless husband Harold in the premier production of Stewart Lemoine’s The Glittering Heart. Since then, he has had the inestimable pleasure of performing in many wonderful plays penned by Mr. Lemoine for the company, including Shockers Delight!, Happy Toes, The Ambassador's Wives, The Delightful Garden of Saint Piquillo, Evelyn Strange, The Finest of Strangers, "Skirts on Fire, The Book of Tobit, and the very first production of The Noon Witch - which will be remounted later this season. Julien has also acted with many of Edmonton's other companies, namely, the Citadel Theatre, where he has taken part in the yearly A Christmas Carol many times, and where he’ll return for the upcoming production of Frozen. He’s also been seen at Theatre Network, Workshop West, Theatre Yes, The Mayfield Dinner Theatre, Northern Light, Leave it to Jane, and Punctuate! Theatre. Though Julien is very grateful to call Edmonton his home of many years, he has played a few other spots around the Canadian theatrescape, including The Globe Theatre (Regina), Persephone Theatre (Saskatoon), The National Arts Centre (Ottawa), The Charlottetown Festival (PEI), Western Canada Theatre (Kamloops), and Theatre Calgary. Julien would like to thank Sheiny and Evie for their ongoing love and support.

Black and white portrait of actor Geoffrey Simon Brown with messy hair, a moustache, and wearing a sweater

  • Geoffrey made his Teatro Live! debut two seasons ago as Clifford in Deathtrap. He’s an award-winning Albertan playwright, actor, and theatre creator, and a founding member of the Major Matt Mason Collective where he has produced small-scale independent theatre for the past twelve years. Recent Edmonton credits include the premiere productions of his plays Michael Mysterious (Pyretic Productions) and Night (MMMC/Common Ground Arts Society) as well as performing in Re:Construct (RISER, Edmonton Fringe), Subscribe or Like (Workshop West), and Brick Shithouse (Fenceless Theatre/Found Festival). He also directed the 2023 Fringe production of This Won’t Hurt, I Promise (Tiny Bear Jaws) for which he was nominated for a Sterling Award. His other plays include The Circle (ATP, Tarragon), Progress (commissioned by Central Memorial High School), and the most recent adaptation(s) of A Christmas Carol for Theatre Calgary. He is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s playwriting program. More at geoffreysimonbrown.com.

Black-and-white digital illustration of costume designer, Leona Brausen with short, wavy hair, wearing large round glasses, with a serious expression, and a graphic shirt.

  • Leona has worked regularly with Teatro as a performer and designer since the company’s inception at the first Edmonton Fringe in 1982. Her appearances include such classic Teatro shows as Cocktails at Pam’s, and The Vile Governess and Other Psychodramas, and she was Nancy in the original cast of Pith. Leona has been Teatro’s principal costume designer for four decades, and her recent company costume credits include Pith, Everybody Goes to Mitzi’s, Deathtrap, The Margin of The Sky, Evelyn Strange, Fever Land, and The Bad Seed. Her other recent credits include Clue, and Jersey Boys at the Citadel, and The Drawer Boy and Tiny Beautiful Things for Shadow Theatre. She’s worked on many shows for The Mayfield Dinner Theatre including this season’s Canada Rocks: The Reboot. Leona designed costumes for the recently released feature film Before I Change My Mind, directed by Trevor Anderson. She was honoured with a 2020 Edmonton Artist’s Trust Fund Award from the Edmonton Arts Council, and she’s a three-time Sterling Award winner for costume design.

Black and white close-up photo of PM Tiana McLean with curly hair, light-colored eyes, smiling, sitting in a vehicle.

  • As graduate of Grant MacEwan University’s Theatre Production program, Tiana has spent the last two decades working in Edmonton Theatre, where extreme weather, fire, illnesses, broken scenery, aggressive prop handling, and squirrels have taught her much about problem solving and remaining calm in a crisis. Past credits include working as Production Manager for the Freewill Shakespeare Festival, Head of Lighting and Carpentry for Theatre Network, Technical Director for Alberta Musical Theatre Company (formerly Alberta Opera) and most recently, the Production Manager for Teatro’s The Oculist Holiday and Private Lives. She is very excited to be summoning The Woman in Black for the second time in her career!

Black and white photo of Set and Props designer, Allison Yanota with dark hair, styled with bangs and a high ponytail, sitting against a plain background. She is wearing a dark jacket, a choker necklace, and has a calm, contemplative expression.

  • Alison made her Teatro debut with lighting designs for the 2021 filmed projects Lost Lemoine, Parts One and Two and A Fit Happy Life, and returned for Fever Land, Caribbean Muskrat., and Deathtrap.  A graduate of both the Technical Theatre Program at Calgary’s Mount University and the U of A Drama Department’s Theatre Design Program (BFA and MFA), Alison is an artist and educator who believes in the performance space as a form of interactive sculpture. Her local credits include the set and lighting design for Shadow Theatre’s The Comedy Company, set and costume design for Punctuate Theatre’s After the Fire, and Freewill Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Measure for Measure, and the production designs for Every Brilliant Thing at the Citadel and The Great Whorehouse Fire of 1921 at Northern Light Theatre. Her Calgary credits include lighting designs for The Lonely Diner and Wait Until Dark at Vertigo Theatre and for The Wedding Party at Alberta Theatre Projects. Other projects she’s worked on include Crime and Punishment with Cloudsway Dance, and Miss Katelyn’s Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable for Tiny Bear Jaws.

Black and white portrait of Rhiannon Eldridge with dark hair, bangs, and makeup, looking directly at the camera against a dark background.

  • Rhiannon is a full time multi-disciplinary theatre artist based in Edmonton. She wears many hats including actor, technician, stage manager, burlesque dancer, and clown. She has previously graduated from the Keyano College Visual and Performing Arts program and recently MacEwan University’s Theatre Production program. Rhiannon is a self described horror fanatic and she is so excited to be a part of this terrifying production!

A woman with curly hair smiling and resting her chin on her hand in a dimly lit setting, possibly a restaurant or café.

  • Tori Morrison is a designer, producer, and production manager from amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, AB) on Treaty 6. She is the Production Manager for Outside the March, the Executive Director and Artistic Producer of Tiny Bear Jaws, and she collaborates with writer David Gagnon Walker as Strange Victory Performance. Recent credits include multimedia design for This is the Story of the Child Ruled by Fear (Strange Victory Performance tour to nine Canadian cities, 2021-2024), assistant sound design for The Importance of Being Earnest (Citadel Theatre, 2023), and production management for Outside the March's and Soulpepper's A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney as well as OtM's production of R.A.V.E. (2024). She recently completed the Canadian Film Centre Slaight Family Music Residency. Fern, a short film she made with writer David Gagnon Walker and director Lisa Rose Snow, is available on YouTube. Find out more about what she does at www.torigmorrison.com.

Black and white portrait of a smiling director, Andrew Ritchie, with a beard and mustache, wearing a floral shirt and a nose ring.

  • Andrew is thrilled to be making his debut with Teatro Live! He is a huge scaredy cat when watching horror, his favourites include: Alien, Evil Dead, Cabin in the Words, Hellraiser, and The Witch. Directing The Woman in Black has been terrifyingly ;) enjoyable experience. Andrew is a director and theatre maker born and raised on Treaty 6 territory in Amiskwaciwaskahikan (Edmonton). Recent directing includes: EdmonTEN (Workshop West), Functional (Defiance Theatre), MINE (Common Ground/Riser), New Mythic Works (Thousand Faces), Hamlet in Isolation (Thou Art Here) and Mr. Burns, a post-electric play (Blarney/Thou Art Here). He’s the co-founding artistic director of Thou Art Here Theatre, and program coordinator with Theatre Alberta. Previously he was the Sandbox Series coordinator & theatre school director at Globe Theatre in Regina, festival director of Common Ground Arts’ Found Festival, and ensemble member with Rapid Fire Theatre. He has an MFA in Directing & Creation from York University, a BA in Drama from the University of Alberta, and is a graduate of the Citadel/Banff Professional Theatre program and the Rozsa Arts Management program. Learn more about him and his upcoming projects like Cycle at www.andrewritchie.net. Working in theatre is only possible with the support of his family and community. He sends his love to Marlee, his two children Elton & Clementine, and his two cats Citra & Chinook.

A woman with curly hair wearing a beanie, black top, and a jacket draped over her shoulders, looking directly at the camera in black and white.

  • Saron is an Eritrean-Canadian theatre technician based in amiskwacîwâskahikan. This is her first Teatro show and her first show as the Varscona Theatre’s new Technical Director. She is excited to take on the new role starting with this spooky number. Enjoy the show! 

Black and white portrait of a smiling Lighting Designer, Erin T. Gruber, with shoulder-length hair, wearing a turtleneck top.

  • T. Erin Gruber is an artist and educator working professionally as a visual storyteller. She is an MFA Theatre Design graduate of, and professor at, the University of Alberta and lives in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton). An award-winning theatre designer with experience in set, lighting, costume and projected media design, and a member of the board of directors of the Associated Designers of Canada, her theatre projects have toured nationally and internationally. In June 2019 her design work was featured at the Prague Quadrennial International Design Exhibition. She is committed to combining the powers of visual communication with the passion and emotion of live performance. The projects that excite her most connect her core values of compassion, empathetic awakening and joyful experience with the public. Award winning projects: Café Daughter (Production Design, WWPT, Gold Medal and Audience Choice award at the 43rd annual Int’l Festival of Monodrama and Mime in Belgrade), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (Set, Lighting and Costume Design, Citadel Theatre and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre - Sterling Award for Lighting Design), Category E (Production Design, Maggie Tree Collective, Sterling Awards for Lighting and Projected Media Design). For more information visit her online: www.eringruber.com

Steven Sobolewski (stage manager) A young man with sunglasses and medium-length dark hair lying on straw or hay, taking a selfie with a slight smile.

  • Steven returns after making his Teatro Live! debut on last season’s The Oculist’s Holiday. He’s a proud mixed-Filipino theatre artist based in Amiskwaciwâskahikan. He has worked as a stage manager all over Treaty 6 with productions such as Prison Dancer (Citadel Theatre) Million Dollar Quartet (Theatre Calgary), Working it Out! (Workplace School Programs), Smoke, This Won't Hurt I Promise, I Don't Even Miss You (Tiny Bear Jaws), Carmen, Don Giovanni (Edmonton Opera), The Debut (RISER). Steven was also a part of the Citadel's RBC Emerging Artist program in Artistic Leadership/planning and the Belfry Theatre's Emerging Arts Leadership Training Program. He is also one of the Equity Stage Management Councillors. Thanks to Casey for all the love and support.

A woman with glasses smiling and showing her teeth, with her hair tied up and a tattoo on her arm, lying against a floral patterned background.

  • Amorena Bartlett (she/her) is a queer Deaf consultant and ASL coach from Amiskwaciy Waskahikan, colonially known as Edmonton. Some productions she has been involved with include Songs My Mother Never Sung Me (2018 and 2023, Concrete Theatre); Glass Washrooms (2019, NIUBOI, Chinook Series); Ren & the Wake (2022, Catch The Keys Productions); Deafy (2023, Citadel Theatre); and Twelfth Night (2023, Freewill Shakespeare Festival). She is grateful for opportunities to have worked with amazing individuals and would like to thank those who have put their trust in her to provide rewarding and inclusive theatrical experiences for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.

JENNI STEVENS (ASL Interpreter)
ANDREA KONOWALEC (ASL Interpreter)
DOUG MERTZ (Dialect Coach)

The Woman in Black Press Release