A faithful rendering of the Henry James classic, well-acted and atmospheric.
Save for the omission of one or two minor characters, Adrian Lloyd-James’s adaptation of The Turn of the Screw is nicely faithful to Henry James' novella. A young, un-named woman starts work at an isolated country house as governess to two angelic children, a brother and sister. But it appears to be haunted by the ghosts of a previous employee and the former governess, both of whom died in disturbing circumstances.
Background sound consists of snatches of childish piano playing, 'I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In' and so on. Also chilling is an adaptable gothic ruin set – all very black and Victorian, as are the costumes. Lighting is thematically important in James' novella; it is here as well.
Sexual tension runs through the piece. There’s the initial interview between the governess and her mysterious employer when the suggestion of seduction is overt; Jane Eyre comes to mind then, and is openly mentioned later. And the possibility of some form of molestation hangs heavily over the rest of play.
Ambiguity is a key feature. What do people mean by their often unfinished sentences? Why was the angelic Miles expelled from boarding school? Are the apparitions real, or are they a function of a disturbed mind? Or perhaps the governess is the victim of a conspiracy – the original book leaves these and other questions unanswered, likewise the play.
Sarah Wynne Kordas is the governess in a triumphant performance. She has a beautifully clear voice, controlled and modulated according to mood and atmosphere. Adaptor Adrian Lloyd-James handles the all other parts including the employer, the housekeeper Mrs Grose and the boy Miles with skill in Karen Henson's production for Tabs Productions.
ALAN GEARY, REVIEWSGATE
Save for the omission of one or two minor characters, Adrian Lloyd-James’s adaptation of The Turn of the Screw is nicely faithful to Henry James' novella. A young, un-named woman starts work at an isolated country house as governess to two angelic children, a brother and sister. But it appears to be haunted by the ghosts of a previous employee and the former governess, both of whom died in disturbing circumstances.
Background sound consists of snatches of childish piano playing, 'I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In' and so on. Also chilling is an adaptable gothic ruin set – all very black and Victorian, as are the costumes. Lighting is thematically important in James' novella; it is here as well.
Sexual tension runs through the piece. There’s the initial interview between the governess and her mysterious employer when the suggestion of seduction is overt; Jane Eyre comes to mind then, and is openly mentioned later. And the possibility of some form of molestation hangs heavily over the rest of play.
Ambiguity is a key feature. What do people mean by their often unfinished sentences? Why was the angelic Miles expelled from boarding school? Are the apparitions real, or are they a function of a disturbed mind? Or perhaps the governess is the victim of a conspiracy – the original book leaves these and other questions unanswered, likewise the play.
Sarah Wynne Kordas is the governess in a triumphant performance. She has a beautifully clear voice, controlled and modulated according to mood and atmosphere. Adaptor Adrian Lloyd-James handles the all other parts including the employer, the housekeeper Mrs Grose and the boy Miles with skill in Karen Henson's production for Tabs Productions.
ALAN GEARY, REVIEWSGATE
First it was something hilarious, then something tear-jerking – and now something spooky this way comes, as Tabs Productions conclude the all too brief Spring Play Season at the Pomegranate this week.
Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw is scary, chilling and intense, and if possible this cleverly structured two-handed stage adaptation is even more so. It has all the ingredients of a classic ghost story: a remote country house, a distant guardian with no interest in his wards, an inexperienced governess, strange happenings in the recent past.
Sarah Wynne Kordas is the governess, full of naïve enthusiasm until she discovers the creeping evil threatening the two children. Adrian Lloyd-James rises to the challenge of three roles without even a change of costume: the slightly sinister uncle, the housekeeper, and the disturbed dyslexic ten-year-old – the last no mean feat for a man over six feet tall!
It becomes impossible to drag your eyes away from the stage as skilled director Karen Henson ramps up the tension inch by inch, and nerve-jangling music and sound effects and a shadowy, shimmery set all conspire to freeze your bones. The chill factor rises steadily until the final tragic ambiguous scene. The ending is balanced on a knife-edge: has the governess, damaged by her own unhappy childhood, finally succumbed to neurosis, or is there really a malevolent presence in the house? Or is the truth something even darker and more alarming?
LYNNE PATRICK (DERBYSHIRE TIMES)