Review: THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, Salisbury Playhouse

Flickering lights, a rocking horse swaying mysteriously, a door slamming for no good reason. Is this evidence of ghosts? This is what "scientific researcher" Dr Montague tries to discover in Stef Smith's new adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House (based on Shirley Jackson's Gothic Horror novel written in 1959) at Salisbury Playhouse.

It's an interesting premise to examine – are there spooky spirits or are they all in our imagination? – in this Wiltshire Creative production in association with Theatr Clwyd. Whether director Martin Constantine pulls it off is another matter. After watching the show, I remain unconvinced by ghosts – and by this not a ghost of a chance production, alas.

The Haunting of Hill House was first adapted for the stage in 1964 by F. Andrew Leslie, and in 2015 Anthony Neilson came up with a new adaptation for Sonia Friedman and Hammer at The Liverpool Playhouse. The chilling American tale's been made into two feature films, both called The Haunting: the first in 1963, followed by a remake in 1999 that was panned. It was also the basis for a two-season horror anthology on Netflix aired in 2018 and 2020.

The story's set in the 1950s and takes place in Hill House, an 80-year-old building that's supposedly haunted. Jasper Britton (Habeas Corpus, Witness for the Prosecution) plays Dr Montague, armed with various gizmos to document the apparitions and write a book about his findings.

He's joined by Clancy Ryan (Singin' in the Rain, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) as Eleanor (or "Nell"), who's had direct involvement with a poltergeist; Sophie Lenglinger (Kätzchen, Asylum King) as telepathic Theo, and Robin Morrissey (Brassed Off, Macbeth) in the role of Luke, the nephew of Hill House's owner. Luke's there to keep on eye on proceedings for his aunt – including not allowing anyone into the tower where the previous owner died.

Sian Howard (The Elephant in the Room, Eastenders) is Mrs Dudley, the laconic housekeeper who will not win a Most Congenial Domestic Servant Award in a hurry. Jemma Churchill (Diary of a Somebody, Doctor Who) plays Mrs Montague, who joins her husband and this motley crew of "ghost-hunters" rather than be on her own.

Despite a strong cast – Lenglinger is especially strong as sassy Theo and Howard's hilarious as the dour housekeeper – it's hard for them to make their mark with an exposition-heavy script and over-reliance on special effects.

That's not to say the special effects aren't good. Hats off to video designer Duncan McClean, video system designer/programmer Dan Bond, props electronics designer Edd Knight, sound designer Johnny Edwards and lead production sound engineer Dylan Saberton. There's even someone in charge of illusion (no, me either) – Will Houstoun, who holds a literary fellowship from The Academy of Magic Arts in Los Angeles and is a past winner of the European Magic Championships.

But clever special effects and tons of technology can't conjure up a great play. Admittedly, the design's brilliant by creating various rooms in the same place, but I don't like the actors being mic'd up, scene changes are rather laborious and at times the sound is too loud.

It's a nice set-up, but there isn't much happening (we had to wait until the end of the first act before anything remotely interesting occurred). There's a lot of telling and not enough showing, with a lack of real interaction between characters and no discernible jeopardy. In the end, bump-in-the-night bangs and thuds don't amount to much.

I really did want to care about what was going to happen to these characters – if we don't care about the characters we don't care about anything – and be transported to another place. As my companion astutely puts it, "It was like standing outside the house and watching the people inside through a window – and not being allowed in."

I wish The Haunting of Hill House every spectral success during the remainder of its run in Salisbury and while touring. But I'm afraid the voracious commercial initiative to adapt a well-known book or movie into a stage play to lure in audiences and rake in cash is a disappointing one. Good adaptations with well fleshed-out characters do work, but I fear this wraithlike phantom show might not be one of them – and the decision to favour tech over character might well come back to haunt the production team.

The Haunting of Hill House runs at Salisbury Playhouse until 3 October and then tours until 21 November.

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