ONE of the most terrifying plays ever staged, as well as one of the most successful, arrives at the Palace Theatre on Monday.

The touring production of the Woman in Black, by Susan Hill, has a cast of just two – plus a third figure who may or may not be a ghost. Yet it manages to provoke more terror than a chorus line of ghouls.

The show has run non-stop in London’s West End since its launch in 1983, and continues to play to sell-out houses. Like Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap, it looks set to be a permanent fixture, running forever.

It has been similarly successful on tour. Next week’s run marks the production’s second visit to Southend.

Set on the East coast of England, the play starts with the arrival of a young solicitor at the island home of a recently deceased woman.

At the funeral, he spots a woman dressed in black with the face of a corpse. Chilling events and apparent hauntings follow, in the build-up to the shock climax. The Woman in Black Palace Theatre, London Road, Westcliff. June 28 to 3 July 8pm Thur and Sat mat 2.30pm 01702 351135