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The Turn of the Screw

by Jeffrey Hatcher, adapted from Henry James short story
review by Joe Mader in SF Weekly December 15, 1999

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Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's ingenious adaptation of Henry James' ghost
story reduces the cast to two actors (a man and a woman), dispenses
with scenery and props, and relies on lighting, acting, and James'
language for mood and setting. The Chameleon Theater Company and
director Walter Niejadlik have modi- fied Hatcher's concept somewhat
-- they use three actresses. This works well except in the initial sequence
between the children's uncle (Sonia Whitney, who later plays the boy
Miles) and the governess (Lee Kiszonas). Hatcher has already tarted the
scene up some (including a stupid pun on "aversion" and "a virgin"), but
Niejadlik mistakenly instructs his actresses to leer salaciously at each
other. He also inserts too many stylized, choreographed bits, the ac-
tions of a director who doesn't trust the text -- or his actors. (For
example, when the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose [Sharon Huff], tells of the
ghosts, she rises trancelike, while the governess acts as if she's still
seated.) Kiszonas, a formidable presence who's scarier than the ghosts,
is miscast, and speaks frenziedly from the beginning instead of building
to a climax. Whitney, however, is very good as the disturbed Miles, and
Huff, when not off on some piece of business concocted by Niejadlik or
serving as the stentorian, portentous narrator, is terrific. She provides
sanity and mystery, heightening the tale's horror. Mary Williams' subtle,
atmospheric lighting also lends substance to the shadows. Despite the
production's obvious flaws, it's still damn spooky.

--Joe Mader

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