Eel Marsh House stands tall, skeletal and isolated, across the Nine Lives Causeway, in the endless flat saltmarshes somewhere on England's bleak East Coast. Here Mrs Alice Drablow lived - and died - alone. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is ordered by his firm's senior partner to travel up from London to attend her funeral and sort out all her papers. He is young and urban and has all the skepticism of youth in the supernatural . But he has a terrible sense of unease in the unfamiliar surroundings, far removed from the bustling city that is his home. And then, he glimpses a young woman with a wasted face, dressed all in black, at Mrs Drablow's funeral. Who is she? Why is she there? He asks questions, but the locals will not give him answers - they refuse to talk about the woman in black, or even to acknowledge her existence, at all. So, Arthur Kipps has to wait until he sees her again, and she slowly reveals her identity to him - and her terrible purpose.
In this chilling tale, 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.
The borders between make believe and reality begin to blur and the flesh begins to creep ...
Director’s Note on the play - SHEY
SHEY ( “Woh” in Hindi ) treads in the footsteps of the classic ghost story. It’s not a horror story. It does not depend upon gruesome images to create shock waves and sensationalise. It relies on atmosphere, a vivid sense of place, on hints and glimpses and suggestions, and the events build up slowly, but persistently, to a terrifying climax.
The structure of SHEY is ingeniously created, where time is completely fluid, as are the characters. Where characters merge into each other, and each mouths the other’s line, and still these lines remain their very own.
SHEY is not only a ghost story. It tells the story of the same tragedy running through the lives of three individuals, the devastation of losing a child. And each of the stories is created by the other. We hear the story of one misfortune, see one unfolding in front of us as the play progresses, and are left with the warning sign of another impending disaster as the curtains drop.
The Director-Saswati Biswas. The Writer-Salil Bandyopadhyay. The Light designer-Badal Das. The Sound designer-Kanishka Sarkar.
Original play by Susan Hill/Stephen Mallatratt - The Woman in Black
Launched in 2005
Credits –
Lights – Badal Das
Sound Design - Kanishka Sarkar
Stage – Ajit Roy
Translation – Salil Bandyopadhyay
Direction – Saswati Biswas
Cast -Actor – Asesh Choudhury
Kipps – Saswati Biswas
Woman – Chaiti Choudhury / Anita Roy
The photos of the productionMore photos
We’ve always chosen plays that are beyond our means. If we want to define the character of our group, that single sentence should do it. We have remained around for nearly 30 years now, in Kolkata, the cultural capital of India, and we have survived despite our dogmatic stand.
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A Chartered Accountant by profession, she is the General manager Finance in a leading FMCG company. She debuted as an actress, but graduated to direction under the guidance of Salil Bandyopadhyay.
