Based on the provocative tale of suspense, horror and repressed sexuality, this adaptation gives the famous story yet another turn of its own. A young governess journeys to a lonely English manor house to care for two recently orphaned children. But she is not their first governess. Her predecessor, Miss Jessel, drowned herself when she became pregnant by the sadistic valet, Peter Quint, who was himself found dead soon after under mysterious circumstances. Now the new governess has begun to see the specters of Quint and Jessel haunting the children, and she must find a way to stop the fiends before it is too late. But one frightening question tortures the would-be heroine: Are the ghosts real, or are they the product of her own fevered imagination?

The wearing of face masks is recommended at this event.

Runtime: 70 minutes.

(TeenTix passholders are welcome at this production! Teens ages 13-19, learn more about how to get $5 tickets to arts events like The Turn of the Screw here).

"Under Jeramiah Peay’s skillful direction, the actors work with remarkable precision and conviction. Mullen weaves in and out of various characters with impressive timing. His portrayal of the 10-year-old Miles stands out as particularly sincere. Meanwhile, [Gabrielle] descends from a beguiling ingenue into a character that is part unreliable narrator, part final-girl, part depraved, and possibly mad. Both performances are complex for different reasons, and each requires an actor with particular prowess. Peay’s directorial style is one that honors the source material by stripping away what is not needed and purely focusing on telling the story well so that both the script and the actors are allowed to truly shine." — V Cate, Stage Raw

"The Turn of the Screw is a story that is all nuance and whispers and words. Just knowing it’s a terrible tale sets the scene in our minds. There is so much suggestion, so many things almost said. And the play is the same. But it’s really all about the performances here. And they are absolutely electric...I loved it. One act. Fasted paced. Purposeful, but not forced. The governess is played with authenticity, understanding, and a gentle earnestness. Every one of the other characters is how she remembers them, so they can be ethereal. But Mr. Mullen plays them all with absolute truth and it works perfectly." — Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros, NoHoArtsDistrict.com

“In his thoughtful adaptation of Henry James’ spooky tale, Jeffrey Hatcher does away with the supernatural flummery, exchanging the story’s balanced ambiguities about the nature of reality for a portrait of psychological vampirism…” —Boston Globe.

“It is hard to think of an interpretation of Henry James’ famously eerie novella THE TURN OF THE SCREW that is more in keeping with James’ own intent…Jeffrey Hatcher could have been taking his cues directly from James’ preface to the story: 'Only make the reader’s general vision of evil intense enough, and his own experience, imagination, sympathy and horror will supply him quite sufficiently with all the particulars.' The key word is imagination. In this beautifully executed adaptation…the audience [is] forced, through subtly ambiguous shadings, to vividly project what is cleverly left unseen and unspoken. A dazzling act of the imagination. Mr. Hatcher has pushed James’ clever turn to its furthest degree.” —The New York Times.