BWW Reviews: TAM Serves Up Gothic Horror in TURN OF THE SCREW

In this 2015 season of "Magic, Murder, and Mayhem" Maine's Theater at Monmouth serves up a gripping adaptation of Henry James' familiar tale of psychological Gothic horror, The Turn of the Screw. The novella tells the story of a governess' battle to wrench her two young charges from the grasp of spirits who haunt their estate and to probe the dark secrets which exert a debilitating psychological hold on everyone at Bly. Adapted here by Jeffrey Hatcher as a two person drama in which one actor plays all the characters other than the governess, TAM's seventy-five minute production has a lean look and taut pace that rivet even an audience familiar with the work.

That said, however - and recognizing the practical and budgetary concerns governing the decision to reduce the play to two actors only - it takes a while to settle into the initially disconcerting rhythms of having the excellent Jacob Sherburne switch briskly from playing the uncle to Mrs. Grose to Miles, as well as the occasional narrator. Though this reviewer is no stranger to the theatrical suspension of disbelief, one could not help wondering if three or four actors might not have done the trick far better and allowed for a deeper probing of the psychological layers of the drama.

James Noel Hoban directs with a sure hand and a keen sense of building tension and titillation. He is aided enormously by the consciously spare, yet atmospheric décor by Jim Alexander - an elongated, oversized wing chair backed by two huge suspended windows - and by the exceptionally fine lighting design of Stephen Jones, which paints the eerie effects of James' text in vividly expressive reds, purples, deep blues, and dramatically angular shadows. Sera Bourgeau provides the two actors with attractive, sober, period costumes with the governess's prim black gown making her look the very image of one of Will Barnett's haunted Gothic widows. Rew Tippin avails himself of the excellent acoustics in Cumston Hall to envelop the production in a sound design that has a surreal resonance, and he makes use of haunting string music to bolster the mysterious effects. Given the subtlety of his design, one wonders, however, why the production chooses to ask actor Sherburne to simulate two of the significant sound effects of the piece - the kingfisher's eerie call and Miles' recurring piano melody - vocally, rather than creating them electronically.

The cast does a herculean job bringing to life the dense language of the James' novella. Never offstage, both Marlowe Holden as the governess and Jacob Sherburne as the other characters who people her world, perform with impeccable timing, great stamina, and a keen sensibility for the genre - not to mention their flawless British accents.

Turn of the Screw offers an enticing look at the work of a master of 19th century fiction, and TAM's production manages to retain all the enigmatic question marks of Henry James' tale which continue to give it a disturbingly modern resonance.

Photo courtesy TAM

Turn of the Screw runs in repertoire until August 21, 2015, at TAM, 796 Main ST., Monmouth, ME www.theateratmonmouth.org 207-933-9999