If I had put this up on April 1st.... But sadly, it is not a joke. Stephen Mallattrat`s play, THE WOMAN IN BLACK, adaped from my novel, does well in countries which have a tradition of ghost stories in their own native literature and folklore. It doesn`t seem to matter to their appreciation that it is set in an early 20th century London of dense fogs and on a house at the end of a causeway off the English coast. But then, HAMLET is set at the Danish court in the 15th century. 

So WIB has an honourable history in Japan, where it  is produced quite regularly,  in Mexico City where it has been running for twelve years, and more recently on tour in India. When the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre announced a production for later this year, I thought the augurs were promising. 

This morning I had an -email from my agent.

'The Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center have been
forced to postpone until next year.  They
explain that "the Chinese government recently released a policy that prohibits any stage production involving ghosts and thrills.'

What kind of people are these ? Yes, I know, the kind of people who gun down protestors and operate a policy of oppression and brutality in Tibet. But the raison d'etre of a cultural policy banning ghosts and thrills in the theatre is truly hard to fathom.

One presumes HAMLET is also off the Chinese menu.