AT first glance it’s a mystery.

How could a play with two actors and a set which comprises a theatrical trunk, two chairs, a wardrobe rail and a seemingly plain backdrop have become the phenomenon of its time, the Mousetrap of its generation?

But there, of course, lies the skill of Steven Mallatratt’s stage adaptation of the Susan Hill novel.

It allows our imagination to do the work and, allied to the skills of two hugely talented actors and some brilliant use of sound and lighting, it quickly becomes clear why this play has been running in the West End for approaching 30 years – as well as going on tour a dozen times during that period.

The story begins with a solicitor, Arthur Kipps, consulting an actor about how he might tell his family and friends the ghost story which has haunted him for most of his adult life.

We see the unfolding of the events of the story – how Kipps was dispatched to Crythin Gifford, far from his London home, to conclude the estate of a long-established client, Alice Drablow who has died in her 80s.

He crosses Nine Lives Causeway to discover the secrets of Eel Marsh House through a series of initially unexplained noises and events, with appearances by a mysterious woman in black.

He learns how the happenings of 60 years ago continue to influence the lives of the small town.

And his own life becomes wrapped up in the tragic story of the Drablow family with dreadful consequences.

The two players, David Acton as Arthur Kipps and Matthew Spencer as the Actor, are superb as they take on different personas.

The tension is palpable and the sudden thrills and shocks keep the adrenaline and heart-rate high.

The Courtyard has taken something of a gamble by staging a week-long theatrical run of a touring play. That’s been rarely done in Hereford in recent times.

But, if the excited chatter of the packed house as they left Monday’s performance is anything to go by, they are on to a winner with The Woman in Black.

The production continues until Saturday and some tickets are still available. Don’t miss out.