April De Angelis To Adapt THE TURN OF THE SCREW for UK Tour

Laurence Olivier award-nominated playwright, April De Angelis, is to adapt the classic Henry James novella, The Turn of the Screw, for a major UK tour opening in September 2026. The world premiere, commissioned and produced by Blackeyed Theatre, will be directed by Nicky Allpress.

April De Angelis is best known for plays such as My Brilliant Friend, a two-part dramatisation of Elena Ferrantes' epic family saga for The National Theatre in 2019, Playhouse Creatures, which opened at Theatre Royal Haymarket in 1993, and Jumpy, which premiered at the Royal Court and which was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2012 for Best New Play. Her theatre work also includes The Devine Mrs S(Hampstead Theatre), Infamous (Jermyn Street Theatre, Kerry Jackson (National Theatre), Saving Grace(Riverside Studios), Gin Craze! (Royal & Derngate Theatre), The Village (Theatre Royal Stratford East, 2018) and Frankenstein (Royal Exchange Manchester).

Considered a seminal work of gothic horror fiction, The Turn of the Screw, written in 1898, was the basis for the 1961 cinematic masterpiece, The Innocents, and the inspiration for Susan Hill‘s The Woman in Black. Telling the tale of a young governess, who believes malevolent spirits are controlling the two children in her care, The Turn of the Screw is a masterwork of ambiguous storytelling, blurring the line between reality and imagination and exploring what is truth and what isn't.

The Turn of the Screw will be directed by Nicky Allpress, whose 2023 production of The Shape of Things by David Eldridge at Park Theatre was a finalist for the What's On Stage ‘Best Production Off West End' award. Her other work includes London revivals of Enda Walshe's Walworth Farce to open the new Southwark Playhouse Elephant and David Eldridge's Market Boy at the Union Theatre, as well as Blackeyed Theatre's 2023 revival of Oh What a Lovely War, which received 5 Offie Nominations. This will be Nicky's second collaboration with April De Angelis, having been the Staff Director for My Brilliant Friend for The National Theatre, directed by Melly Still. Nicky recently worked with Jeremy Herrin as associate director for his production of David Ireland's Ulster American, starring Woody Harrelson and Andy Serkis.