BY KAREN JOUAULT

FOR many of us Halloween is the ideal opportunity to watch a horror film with enough blood and guts to scare even the bravest heroes for a couple of weeks. Though few of us would presume that they could get the same sensations – probably even worse – at the theatre. However, The Woman In Black will instil a fear inside you that won't leave even after you've long leave the theatre.

The Woman in Black has been performed in the West End for 17 years and it is now coming to Cookstown between Thursday, November 2 and Saturday, November 4. Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from the novel by Susan Hill, the production will be played by Coalisland actors, Jim McKeown and Mickey Carolan, directed by Shane O'Neill with Damian Ryan in charge of the technical aspects of the play. The group has received special permission from the copyright owners to perform it.

"I went to see it twice," said the director, "and I was captivated by the story. That's why I wanted to direct it. It's an old fashioned ghost story, which means that it's plot led with the obligatory twist at the end."

The story is set in the early 1900s. An old man, a lawyer, hires an actor to produce the story of real life, ghostly events which he experienced, in the hope that telling it might act as a catharsis and relieve him from the post-traumatic stress he suffers. The old man recounts events which happened in an old abandoned house by the seaside and that have haunted him ever since.

For those of you who might think that it doesn't sound scary, don't under-estimate your imagination.

"Each individual has his or her own personal experience and the pay is calling upon your old memories," said Jim McKeown.

"By not showing everything, the spectators imagine a lot. Your imagination does it all!"

And Shane O'Neill added, "It's not gory but it is a technical show and the sound effects and lighting create the spooky atmosphere.

"Our production is not too far away from the original play as the budget needed to produce The Woman In Black doesn't have to be high. The audience will have a London show here."

As the play is being shown in one of the oldest and smallest theatres in Europe called Fortune Theatre, the Coalisland group will set a creepy atmosphere in the Burnavon. Shane O'Neill explained that they want "quality and professionalism from start to finish".

"I went to see the play in London," said Jim. "It is still packing houses 17 years after it was first premiered. And when I left the theatre I was looking over my shoulder. This play is the proof that you can be scared at the theatre. And I believe our production will also scare you."

The minimal cast also means that the spectators' attention focuses on them and doesn't wander between different characters.

"There is something genuinely dark about it," said Shane.

"The sense of dread that comes across in the story will not leave you when you leave the theatre. While we don't show blood and guts like in the cinema, we show 'brains' and this ghost story will cut you off and trap you."

The Woman In Black will run at the Burnavon between Thursday, November 2 and Saturday, November 4 at 8pm. Tickets priced at £10.

For more information, contact the Burnavon on 028 8676 9949. Alternatively log onto www.burnavon.com