Windsor Theatre Royal – until Saturday 24th October 2026
Reviewed by Andrew and Kate Lawrence
4****
“When I tell you the truth, you just ignore me…”
We’ve been discussing why everybody loves a good ghost or horror story recently, and one of our theories is that we all enjoy the sudden rush of adrenalin when given a sudden fright, alleviated by the feel-good realisation that you’re actually quite safe, viewing the nasty goings-on from a safe distance. But when it comes to ghost stories, in particular, we really want to question if the ghosts are real, or is there some trickery in play, and to what purpose are we being deceived? In some manner or other, we all trust that the story will end with Scooby Doo and his gang leaping to the rescue, unmasking the villain, and explaining the elaborate plan.
For the ‘Turn of the Screw’ production at Windsor Royal Theatre tonight, there is no Scooby Doo moment. Instead, the play, adapted by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, tells the story from the singular perspective of the governess, (played by Amy Tara), a beautiful, young and inexperienced women, who accepts the job of overseeing two orphaned children at the remote Bly Manor. Instead the story focuses on the interrogation of the governess and the re-enactment of her story. Rather than questioning whether ghosts really exist, we are asked whether we can trust the words of a young women, presumably unfit to cope with the demands of this pressurising and isolated job.
While being questioned, she asserts that as a woman, she is so much less inclined to be trusted, as she surmised “when I tell you the truth, you ignore me”. Presumably a level of trust that would not have been questioned would the governess have been a man? It’s an element of Henry James’s novella published in 1898, that could (in some circumstances) be just as applicable today.
Throughout the show, the governess, (Amy Tara) never leaves the stage. She contorts between timeframes and locations to tell the story of her interrogation by ‘The Man’ (seriously we have no idea why he is called that), played by Jim Fish, to scenes in a London office where she meets with ‘The Master’ (also Jim Fish) and accepts the Governess position.
The stage props also never move, instead the scenery takes on new personas throughout the play with the clever use of lighting, providing the framework for many settings, such as views through windows to the outside gardens, views from the gardens looking back in, corridors to hidden rooms in the manor, and even beds from a birds-eye view. The drowning scene is particularly clever and effective.
At the house, the Governess meets the house maid Mrs Grose, played by Katy Slater, and the two children Flora, played by Kathleen McAuley Irvine, and Miles, played by Toby Beynon. Those last two also playing the parts of Quint and Jessel the deceased valet and previous governess, who for reasons that might become clear, bear a striking resemblance to the children. Finally, Janita Mikkola also compliments the cast with a variety of other roles – We particularly liked the book trick.
Just a word of warning, you might want to put your drink down before the play starts – just a suggestion. Go see it before it finishes on Saturday 24th October.