4 STARS, October 1-7. An ambiguous, spooky treat with standout performances from its young stars, says Alice Cairns
Innocence and experience, ghosts and demons – The Turn of the Screw is no ordinary ghost story. Henry James’s 1898 novella has been adapted countless times for the stage and screen, but its ambiguity and psychological complexity still feel fresh. Its exploration of the fine line between sanity and madness has been immensely influential, echoing through modern horror masterpieces like The Babadook and The Others.
A governess is sent to Bly, a remote country house, to instruct two orphaned children. She’s immediately captivated by her lovable wards, Miles and Flora. But things don’t go smoothly. Like Jane Eyre gone wrong, the governess is in the throes of a patently misguided love for the absent master of the house. She quickly becomes obsessed with the previous governess – the beautiful Miss Jessell, who perished with her lover in obscure circumstances. And she begins to sense something strange about Flora and Miles – a shadowy sense of corruption, as though they’re being exposed to dark influences.
Is Bly a haunted house, where feral spirits prey on innocent children, or is one woman’s twisted psyche responsible for its horrors? Are the children being possessed by ghosts, or is it the Governess herself who wants to possess them, fighting a manic battle to gain control over their hearts and minds?
This production certainly gives us a Bly that seems haunted. The stage set is the skeleton of a dark house, strung with cobwebs and peeling paintwork. The ghosts of Miss Jessell and Peter Quint appear at windows or materialize in bedrooms, their faces white and drawn.
Nonetheless, the production ultimately came down firmly on the side of madness. The governess is tormented by longing – first for the uncle of her wards, and then, perversely, for Miles. In a departure from Henry James’s novella, Miles is now a 14 year old on the cusp of maturity. The push and pull of their burgeoning attraction is a disquieting element – Miles attempts to kiss his governess, and later, she banishes everyone else from the house to enjoy a meal with Miles that she likens to a wedding breakfast.
Indeed, this production is unflinching in its exploration of the darkest elements of The Turn of the Screw. The possibility that Jessell and Quint abused the children haunts the governess. The atmosphere is thick with sexual repression and desire, and we sense that Miles has been profoundly damaged by his experiences at the hands of unscrupulous guardians. In a climactic argument he flings obscenities at his governess, before breaking down in tears at her feet. He’s dislocated, torn between adult desires and a childlike need for comfort and care.
Mia Skytte Jensen was convincing as the governess – at first dignified and upright, stalking the halls of Bly with purpose and resolve. By the end of the play, she had developed into a shaky, fanatical presence, clutching pleadingly at the children.
The children themselves were particularly impressive. Charlotte Lootens was excellent as Flora – precocious, funny and lovable. Oscar Holloway did a great job with the complex role of Miles – a boy who conceals deep pain and confusion beneath a debonair charm.
The real horror of this play comes from the uneasy sense that children must grow up – that that their Edenic innocence will soon lapse into experience. This idea is so horrifying to the governess that she would prefer to ascribe changes in her wards to malevolent forces, the ghosts of corrupt adults who stalk and manipulate the children. This production is a fine exploration of the Freudian underside of James’s ambiguous work – a dark and complex treat as Halloween approaches.
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