[Ad- gifted experience] Dann, Tom and I all went to the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch for the opening night of The Turn of the Screw – a performance that is based on Henry James’ classic ghost story but has been adapted to the stage. The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is our favorite theatre. No matter what seat you end up getting, you will be able to see the stage. There is a lovely cafe and bar outside the main theatre and they have a little stage that you can take a photo on if you’d like. I am not sure when they started doing this, but the bar has a special cocktail for the feature play, which is very fun too!
The Turn of the Screw makes great use of the stage, as always when it comes to plays at this specific theatre. At the start of the show, there was a little room created off to the side, but once this introduction to the governess was done, the wall raised into the ceiling, and we could see a massive, broken line of windows and a tilted stage with outdoor looking areas and indoor looking areas. It’s really fantastic to see what they are doing with the stage each time we see a performance here.
This story is about two children who have been orphaned, and tragedy has continued to strike, as their governess (or like, caregiver/teacher) has passed away recently, meaning they need someone else to look after them. The main character of the show, this new governess, needs to protect these children, but the manor itself is haunted by some strange voices and creatures, who won’t leave them alone. From the start, the children and the housekeeper both seem to not quite answer questions being told to the governess, who starts really questioning how the previous person died and what happened to the other groundskeeper within the manor. There is some serious secrets happening, which drives her more towards madness.
The Turn of the Screw did a fantastic job of using lighting to showcase a thunderstorm, create suspects and horror through the use of strange TVs and used lighting to show ghosts dancing on the curtains of the massive window. There were fantastic moments where the stage itself felt like another actor in the show. I wouldn’t say this performance was extremely terrifying, but it was spooky and the ending left me guessing as to what really happened at the manor! It’s well worth a watch this spooky season.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!
I really enjoyed reading your review of ‘The Turn of the Screw.’ It sounds like it was a fantastic night out at a wonderful theater.
They did an amazing job with the sets and the atmosphere. This looks like a great one!
I would LOVE to see this play! I’ve always been a big fan of stage plays with a lot of atmosphere, and this seems to have that in spades.
I’d love to see the Turn of the Screw. Sounds like a wonderful show and the setting of the stage is fabulous!
The Turn of the Screw sounds like such a captivating performance, and I love that the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch always finds creative ways to use the stage.
I love watching plays & musicals. The Turn of the Screw sounds like an amazing performance to watch at the theater.
The Turn of the Screw seems a good one to watch. I miss going to the theatre, we use to go almost every other week before we moved to another city.
This looks like such a fun and fabulous show to see live and I wish I was closer so that I could check this one out. My husband and sister love plays and love visiting broadway too….so this is perfect for us!