"It's like the ride at the funfair which scares you but you want to go on it again.": Malcolm James on Woman in Black

Despite being knee-knockingly, heart-thumpingly terrifying as the sense of foreboding spreads, it has cast a spell over audiences having enjoyed 25 years in the West End.

It is also on tour and coming to Malvern Theatres - but why do people seem to enjoy being scared so much?

Malcolm James, who plays Arthur Kipps, said: "I don't know why we do really like to be scared.

"I like a good horror film and love a good scary ride at the funfair.

"I suppose with the theatre shows, films and funfair rides there's something about feeling terrified but in an ultimately safe environment.

"What we find in the theatre is that people scream at certain moments and then they laugh or have a bit of a giggle afterwards.

"People are laughing at themselves and that's why people come to see it seven or eight times because they love being scared.

"It's like the ride at the funfair which scares you but you want to go on it again and again."

Malcolm is speaking from the tour's current stop in Bradford before it comes to Malvern on Monday, June 1 to Saturday, June 6.

Playing at theatres across the country since October, it is the longest tour Malcolm has ever done but he will be sad to leave it behind when the current tour finishes in July.

"It has gone really well with the audiences.

"They get very excited and react quite a lot particularly as we get a lot of school parties because the novel is a GCSE set text.

"This week in Bradford we haven't had a school in because it's half term but when they are in you get more gasps and screams and that also gets the adults worked up."

Despite travelling around the country, Malcolm said there were no regional differences between the audiences and their reactions but had noticed the weekend crowds could be more vocal than those who had work the next morning.

His first brush with The Woman in Black was seeing it on stage five years ago and loved it.

"I thought it worked really well and wanted to do it because I could see it was working well.

"It is a great challenge for a character actor like myself and at that point I read the book which I hadn't done previously and what I loved about it was [author] Susan Hill wrote it in the tradition of the old Victorian ghost stories."

Stephen Mallatratt’s stage adaptation tells the story of 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’.

He engages a young actor to help him tell his story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul.

While the play is known for being a bit of a scarefest, it begins quite gently.

"In fact, it starts in a quite lighthearted fashion so there is quite a build up to the scary stuff which lets them relax a bit before things start frightening them."

Having been on the road for more than half a year with the play, Malcolm agrees he has become a little more immune to the play's frights.

"Matt [Connor] who plays The Actor has to do all the creeping around on stage in the dark so it was very creepy for him in rehearsals especially as stage management played tricks on him.

"When I'm on stage and I know something scary is coming up I like to look out at the audience and see who is going to jump.

"At times in the show the audience are totally quiet, you could hear a pin drop on stage and I know I can take my voice down to a whisper and it is carrying throughout the theatre because everyone is listening intently."

He thinks the success of the show is down to many factors including director Robert Herford who helps to make the 25-year-old show feel fresh.

"There is a bit of weight [taking on the role] because the show has been running for 25 years and you don't want to be the person who comes along and mucks it up.

"There a great expectation definitely.

"Robin has decided every single cast for the past 25 years and every cast brings a freshness.

"It's his baby, he commissioned Stephen Mallatratt to adapt it and he is very proud of it.

"It's quite different each time because the actors bring different qualities to it.

"It's a very technical show, there is certain moments you have to be standing in certain places but apart from that it is up to the actor.

"Because Robin is an actor and understands how they work, we get to do what we want with the parts.

"It's been a fantastic experience working with him."

As our conversation draws to a close he tells me he is looking forward to returning to Malvern Theatres having starred in Birdsong at the theatre two years ago.

Malvern, however, may have to steel itself if it is to enjoy seeing Malcolm again.

For more information and tickets log on to malverntheatres.co.uk.