The Turn of the Screw by Henry James adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and staged by Stageworks Theatre Company.

09-21-2003

The play was very different from typical plays. It only had 2 actors. The man played the boy, the housekeeper, the master, the narrator; the woman played the governess. It was very unusual and intense. The stage was small as was the theater. The props consisted of a candle stand holding 15 candles on the right side of the stage, 3 large candles on pillars on the left hand side of the theater, and a rocking chair with a small blanket over the back in the center. He would return to the back of the stage with his back to us when he was changing character.

The story is about a governess who takes her first job taking care of two children in the English country. Her employeer instructs her never to contact him because he doesn't want to be bothered with the cares of his niece and nephew. When she gets to the house she finds out that the previous governess killed herself because she was in love with the driver who had turned his back on her when she became pregnant. He killed himself a few weeks after she did because he realized he did love her. The ghosts of the two came back to posess the children so that the ghosts can find life again thru the children.

The acting was amazing. I felt like the story was really happening, not that I was watching a fictional event. I often found myself sitting on the edge of my seat hoping that the people would be ok. I had to keep reminding myself that this was real people acting in front of me. They were so into their parts. The man was especailly talented as he switched characters so realisitcally that it was hard to imagine that he wasn't an old housekeeper or a small boy.

The lighting was also very well done setting a chilling mood to draw the audience even further into the frightening story unfolding before us.

Plays are just the cure for the depression that comes from watching sappy crap on tv. This play renewed my belief that creativity is still alive in our culture.