Penny Seats goes to church to perform Henry James’s ‘Turn of the Screw’
ANN ARBOR, Mich.–The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is a novella that first appeared in serial form in Colliers Magazine in 1898. The story has been debated, revised, analyzed and taught at length ever since to English majors. And now it is performed as a Victorian play by The Penny Seats at The First Congregational church here in all its 19th century Gothic pallor.
The Turn of the Screw is a ghost story. An unnamed narrator listens to Douglas, a friend, read a manuscript written by a former governess whom Douglas claims to have known and who is now dead. The manuscript tells the story of how the young governess is hired by a man who has become responsible for his young nephew and niece after the deaths of their parents. He lives mainly in London but also has a country house. The boy, Miles, is attending a boarding house while his younger sister, Flora, lives at a summer house in the country. Miles and Flora’s uncle, the governess’ new employer, gives her full charge of the children. The governess travels to her new employer’s country house and begins her duties. Soon after, though, Miles is expelled from school and then the Governess begins to see two ghostly figures around the grounds. The story turns from there.
The adaptation by playwright and screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher features two players performing the characters and also narrating the story.
Mary Dilworth plays the Governess, and she completely masters the material. It helps, too, that her face and entire visage utterly evoke the 1870s. Will Myers plays…well…every other part in the play. His own Victorian-era countenance and very good English accent helps give the story the right mood and voice.
One of the key stars of this production, though, is the church. Though it was unintentional (another venue bailed on its commitment to host the production) this is definitely a case of the backup plan working better. Director Julia Glander, who has done a splendid job of delivering the James classic, notes in the program that the corner stone of the church was laid the same year of the play’s action–1872. Spooky.
There is much to consider while you are enjoying the performance. Many critics and scholars, for example, have wondered if the strange and sinister aspects of the story and the people being talked about were only in the governess’s mind and not part a reality. Over the decades, there has been critical dispute about the ghosts and the sanity of the governess.
It will make for good post-show conversation, after taking in this fine performance, whilst walking to the local tavern or eatery for a cat-lap (look it up if you don’t know the term.)