The Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis is presenting psychological thriller "Turn of the Screw" this weekend, just in time to set the mood for Halloween.
The two-person cast is performing Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of Henry James' 1898 gothic novella about a governess in England who takes a new position in Essex and begins to hear ghosts and see apparitions.
“There’s a lot of different takes on this story, said Director Shawna Flanigan. “Some of them landing squarely on the side of this sort of Freudian mad demise, and some of them falling very clearly on the side of the ghosts. The playwright, Jeffrey Hatcher, who wrote this adaptation, really wanted to preserve that ambiguity of the story. He felt, and we believed, that that sort of debate and discussion about whether it’s madness or ghosts made the most compelling story because it really helped us tell the tale that human nature is never quite what it seems.”
As a ninety minute play with just two actors and only a chair for a set, the production relies on the craft of the actors, said Flanigan.
Actor Josh Routh takes on the roles of four different characters with just his voice and body as cues to role changes.
Routh is joined on stage by Jennifer Theby Quinn, who plays the governess.
Due to the psychological elements of the play, and because there is a suggestion that a young boy is possessed, COCA is recommending the production for an audience that is twelve and older.
Related Event
COCA Presents Jeffrey Hatcher's Adaptation of Henry James' "Turn of the Screw"
October 25 and 26, 2013
7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Founder's Theatre at COCA, 524 Trinity
For more information, call 314-561-4877 or visit the COCA website.
Cityscape is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer, hosted by Steve Potter and funded in part by the the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis, the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.