ARTS . Theater Review

Taming of the Screw

The Turn Of The Screw


	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Oct 25, 2006

The cinematic style of horror — scream-out-loud scares and explicitly gory violence — has replaced the good old-fashioned ghost story, such as Henry James' venerable The Turn of the Screw. This 1898 novella, adapted for the stage as The Innocents and in Benjamin Britten's 1954 opera, plus filmed in 1961 (co-authored by Truman Capote) and televised in at least four different versions, returns to the stage in Jeffrey Hatcher's popular two-actor retelling presented by the Delaware Theatre Company.

Director Anne Marie Cammarato's production relies heavily on well-crafted atmospherics, from Peter Atwater's ominous cello underscoring to Eric Schaeffer's spooky set, seemingly three massive walls (but actually translucent panels, lit masterfully by Tyler Micoleau) surrounding a compact, central platform of staircases suggesting a labyrinthine manor house.

Erin Moon plays the young governess charmed by a seductive bachelor (Michael Polak) into caring for his orphaned nephew and niece in a secluded mansion that he refuses to visit. Hatcher enlivens the exposition with humorous innuendoes that lead nowhere, but entertain us as the suspense slowly percolates. Polak expertly transforms himself into precocious 10-year-old Miles (merely taking off his jacket), mute young Flora and housekeeper Mrs. Grose while continuing to narrate the governess's gradual realization that the house is haunted by the children's former caretaker, Miss Jessel, and her lover, Peter Quint.

Moon shines as James' shy but plucky heroine, ferociously protective of her new charges and determined to solve the mystery. She makes every moment — tiny scares, sudden realizations — genuine, and wins our affection with her Jane Eyre-fueled romantic idealism. The first time she sees herself in a full-length mirror, finally free of her pastor father's repressive rule, is a revelation.

Polak's frightening in the play's opening moments for all the wrong reasons, introducing the play in a ridiculously hokey "scary" voice, but soon reveals his versatility.

Hatcher's clever adaptation, which includes Polak whispering "Creak! Footfall!" when the governess hears scary noises, can't hide the story's old-fashioned lack of contemporary horror staples: The Turn of the Screw offers not only no blood or shocks, but also no happy (i.e. evil is defeated, all are saved, guy gets girl) ending. Still, DTC's beautifully produced telling delivers the eeriness James provides, showing why this story will outlive current fashion.

(m_cofta@citypaper.net)

The Turn Of The Screw

Through Nov. 5,Delaware Theatre Co.,200 Water St.,Wilmington, Del.,302-594-1100,www.delawaretheatre.org