Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
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In Bly, a governess has come to look after two young children, Miles and Flora, who seem to be the epitome of innocence and angelic-ness. However, after repeatedly seeing the ghosts of Miss Jessel, the previous governess, and Peter Quint , the old master of the house, the governess becomes increasingly panicked. This is not helped by the fact that she can, under no circumstances, contact the children's uncle for assistance. As the ghosts appear more, we learn that the children seem to have some sort of connection with them. Through stories that Mrs Grose tells, we are led to believe that young Miles was sexually abused by Peter Quint, and that he has developed an obsession for his abuser.
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I have to confess; I am not the greatest fan of Benjamin Britten. Personally, in his composing I struggle to find any interesting tunes. In The Turn of the Screw, there was one haunting theme, but other than that, I found that there was very little interest in the composition of the actual songs (the isolated orchestral parts were good). However, that is not to take away from the absolutely excellent job that the cast did, and I was particularly impressed by the immense talent of the children (Daniel Sidhom and Elen Willmer on the night that I went.) |
The set design was perfect. Soutra Gilmour has created a shell of Bly, just the frame of a house with the occasional window and a mysterious shard of translucent glass at the top of the building. It is absolutely entrancing, and created the idea of the constant questioning; are the ghosts really there for everyone to see, or are they jus a figment of the governess' imagination? The house is surrounded by huge beds of overgrown grass. I can honestly tell you, that seeing Miss Jessel, a pale, creepy ghost just standing and staring out into the audience in the middle of long grass, lit only by a faint white light among the pitch blackness of the sky is possibly one of the most haunting images I have ever seen! |
What stood out for me about this production is that it seemed just like a play put to music. There was a real story that was communicated well, and a comprehensible movement of the plot which was engaging and interesting. Importantly, the opera did not feel like it was difficult to connect to, thanks to the superb direction of Timothy Sheader.
The Turn of the Screw is suitably spooky, while at times it makes everyone feel a little bit more than uncomfortable. Wonderful performances all-round, and a brilliant realisation of this potentially difficult and cold opera. Recommended (if you can find any tickets!)