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by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Craig Walker

Theatre Kingston, Tarragon Theatre, Toronto

June 13-29, 2002

"They Will Seduce You"

After a week of one overblown production after another at Stratford, what a relief it was to see Theatre Kingston's "The Turn of the Screw" now playing at the Tarragon Theatre Extra Space.  At Stratford the extraneous ruled--sets and costumes take the place of telling a story clearly or even accurately.  Theatre Kingston's minimalist production puts the focus where it should be--on communicating a fascinating story through powerful acting. 

Last year Theatre Kingston brought us a highly entertaining version of James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" in Artistic Director Craig Walker's own adaptation.  In "The Turn of the Screw" they bring us another work one would have thought inadaptable to the stage.  But as last year they prove us wrong again.  The challenge here is not an encyclopedic, mythopoeic epic as with Joyce, but a compact tale whose very strength is its elusiveness and ambiguity. 

Henry James's famed novella of 1898 tells the story of a governess hired by a man named Douglas to tutor his deceased brother's two children, Miles and Flora, on an isolated estate.  She finds an ally in the elderly servant Mrs. Grose but begins to feel the malicious presence of two former employees, both now deceased--that of her predecessor Miss Jessel and that of the uncle's valet Peter Quint.  As the days pass it becomes clear to her that the revenants' goal is to harm or possess the children and that she must do something to stop them.

James's novella has been adapted as an chamber opera by Benjamin Britten (1954) and has formed the basis for several films, the best of which is "The Innocents" (1961)by Jack Clayton.  The difficult with these adaptations is that they make concrete what in James's text may be only imagined.  Whether the ghosts of Mrs. Jessel and Quint are or are not real is one of the central and most insoluble questions of the novella.

American playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has come up with a brilliant solution in dealing with this exploration of point of view and the indeterminacy.  One actor, Michelle Mallen,  plays The Governess and another, Craig Walker, plays The Man, who in turn plays the roles of Douglas, Mrs. Grose and Miles.  Flora's presence is mimed and whether Jessel and Quint, both mute, also appear depends entirely on whether you think The Man represents them or not.  Like Walker's own adaptation of "Finnegans Wake", it's one of the cleverest adaptations of a novel I've seen in a long time.  Not only does it keep the ambiguity of the novella intact but, unlike so many adaptations, it works as stage play in its own right.  Hatcher gives the Governess a repressive childhood not found in James, but in the play it provides the Man with another sinister aspect as the Governess's father.

Every element of the production works together to produce such a powerful effect it may take you by surprise.  Walker as director has chosen an alley staging with the audience split into two ranks of seats on either side of a narrow space running the length of the theatre.  A doorway indicated only by curtains lies at one end and a set of carpeted steps leading into darkness lies at the other.  More than any proscenium staging ever could, this set-up reinforces the themes of the play.  The Governess is trapped with the Other from the outset.  The theme of watching and being watched couldn't be clearer as we watch those across the stage watching the actors.              

The lighting is superb.  Jamie Press has lit the runway with three hooded lamps to make three sharply defined pools of light where the action takes place.  The effect can be softened by external lights, but more often we see the actors' faces partially consumed by shadow, a perfect complement to this exploration of moral darkness.  Anne Redish's provides Victorian costumes for both.  Mallen wears the high-collared black gown for the Governess as if it were a suit of armour to protect her from the world though she is conscious of the long row of diagonal buttons on the bodice as inadequate defence.  The looser costume for the Man suits his nature as a shape-shifter.  Given the choice between lavish spectacle and a few perfectly chosen elements of production closely tied as here with theme and character, latter wins out every time.

Walker and Mallen are both give finely nuanced performances.  They are excellent at bringing out the subtext, and the subtext beneath that subtext, every moment in the play.  From the moment of her interview with Douglas when the Governess mistakes the word "version' for "virgin", Mallen shows us a woman whose politeness and restraint thinly veil her inner terrors.  Mallen's intensity is key in making us believe, as the Governess does, that she is responding to external forces.  Walker distinguishes each of the Man's speaking roles through radical changes of voice and minimal changes of posture to allow for the possibility that they all are projections of the Governess's imagination.  Walker shows the malice in Douglas's question "Have I seduced you?", in Miles's supposed innocence and even in strange glimmers that pass over kindly Mrs. Grose's face.  They are subtle, involving performances that catch you up right from the start and don't let go.

Walker's direction is taut and economical.  His careful pacing allows a tension to build that will have you looking out for Peter Quint or Miss Jessel in the wings even when the play's two actors are on stage.  He brings out the sense that what is unspoken overshadows what is spoken and this only heightens the chilling atmosphere.  He also fully preserves the crucial ambiguity of the ending.  Those who appreciate a great story expertly performed should not miss this dark, multifaceted gem of a show.

©Christopher Hoile

Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.

Photo: Michelle Mallen.