The Turn of the Screw (Seymour Centre) ★★★1/2

Written by Richard Hilliar (after Henry James). Tooth & Sinew and Seymour Centre. 21 Jul – 12 Aug, 2023.

Henry James’ classic gothic horror novella has been given an extra layer of psycho-sexual intrigue in writer/director Richard Hilliar’s new stage adaptation that blurs the line of reality right up to the final minutes and keeps you questioning whether ghosts are really real.

A young governess (Lucy Lock) takes a new position in a mansion house in Bly, Essex. Her two young charges Flora (Kim Clifton) and Miles (Jack Richardson) have some peculiar habits and secrets, but their absent uncle (Harry Reid) doesn’t seem to care. The house is maintained by a single housekeeper, Mrs Grose (Martelle Hammer). But the new governess soon discovers the mysteries locked away in the old, dusty classroom are coming back to haunt them all.

Set Designer Hamish Elliot has leaned into the gothic nature of the story, producing a versatile wood panelled room decaying at the edges (imagine a British manor house murder mystery set in Stranger Things’ Upside Down). Some atmospheric lights (Ryan McDonald), ominous sound design (Chrysoulla Markoulli) and lashings of dry ice make for a simple but effective backdrop to the story.

Hillar’s new adaptation highlights the sexuality in the tale. Hinting at events in the governess’ past, as well the perverse control of Peter Quint over the previous governess, and the children. By framing the story around trauma, it casts doubt on the governesses observations – is she seeing ghosts, or is this all a self-delusion? Are the children acting strangely out of their own trauma, or are they just odd, spoilt kids? Is this all a case of hysteria in a strange new environment? It’s a layer I didn’t remember from the novella (which I haven’t revisited in decades), but which informed the work and gave it new layers.

The performances are all highly stylised but strong. Clifton and Richardson make Flora and Miles childishly impetuous and otherworldly without overplaying it. Both Lock and Hammer are suitably overwrought but trying to hold it all together. 

While the show is lacking in actual scares (this isn’t 2:22: A Ghost Story or The Woman in Black), it succeeds in delivering a creepy vibe. The well measured pace and familiar tropes of the story almost falls into a quaint “cosy horror” genre in the face of more modern stage frights.

A solid, quality production of a well-worn story that’s given it enough of a fresh outlook to keep things current without sacrificing any of the integrity of the original, The Turn of the Screw is just plain old good fun.