Plenty of theatrical bells and whistles, but this underwhelming gothic adaptation falls short in its execution.Rating
Ok
Jump scares and booming sound effects are not enough to make a haunted house frightening. Stef Smith‘s adaptation of Shirley Jackson‘s classic gothic horror novel throws plenty at the audience – flashing lights, ominous music, moving scenery and video projections – but beneath the theatrical machinery, there is remarkably little to haunt us.
Eleanor (Clancy Ryan) arrives at Hill House to join Dr. Montague (Jasper Britton) in his investigation of the supernatural, despite warnings from housekeeper Mrs Dudley (Sian Howard) not to linger among the house’s dark secrets. Luke (Robin Morrissey), whose aunt owns the property, and Theo (Sophie Lenglinger) join them on this endeavour, but Eleanor, haunted by her own mother’s death, becomes convinced the spirits may offer a way to reunite them instead.
There is no shortage of theatrical bells and whistles. Chris Davey‘s lighting design is frequently eerie, while special effects, including an exploding light fixture and neat visual illusions (from the show’s own illusion designer Will Houstoun), make the supernatural tangible. Duncan McLean‘s video design is another of the production’s more successful elements, providing striking imagery to create an atmosphere that the staging itself often struggles to achieve.
Ti Green‘s moving set is considerably less convincing. The flats wobble when doors close, while constant furniture rearrangements create lengthy transitions as we wait for rooms to materialise. A permanent raised platform makes little sense in a conventional house, particularly when characters sit on it mid-scene, effectively sitting on the floor. What should make Hill House feel uncanny instead just looks strange.
The same inconsistency extends to the costumes. Some characters change clothes to suggest the passage of time, while others remain in the same outfits. Inappropriate footwear choices also distract from the action on stage, and blood that looks more like pink paint plus missed door-closing sound cues further undermine the illusion.
More fundamentally, Smith’s handling of the horror is badly unbalanced. Scenes end almost as soon as they begin, with thin, predictable dialogue followed by another burst of ominous music during a lengthy location change. The repetition quickly becomes tiresome. Rather than allowing dread to accumulate, the production repeatedly announces that something frightening is coming, then relies on a loud noise to deliver the payoff.
That is particularly damaging in a story whose horror should be psychological as much as supernatural. The characters are too thinly drawn for us to care much about their fate. Eleanor is the notable exception: Ryan gives a solid performance, seemingly the only actor with a clear sense of her character’s emotional journey.
Lenglinger’s Theo, meanwhile, feels out of step with the rest of the production. Her heightened, almost drawing-room-comedy performance – as though she has wandered in from a Coward or Ayckbourn – sits awkwardly against the gothic register of the piece. Whether this is a directorial choice or a performance issue is difficult to say, but the result is a character who breaks rather than builds the atmosphere.
The production ultimately mistakes activity for atmosphere. Strip away the booming sound design and visual effects and what remains is flat dialogue, one-dimensional characterisation and a set that feels poorly designed.
The Haunting of Hill House should leave you wondering whether the house has got inside your head. This version mostly left me wondering when the next scene change would finish. Even Derek Acorah would struggle to raise a spirit here.
Novel: Shirley Jackson
Adapted for the stage by: Stef Smith
Director: Martin Constantine
Set and Costume Designer: Ti Green
Lighting Designer: Chris Davey
Sound Designer: Johny Edwards
Composer: Harry Blake
Video Designer: Duncan Mclean
Illusion Designer: Will Houstoun
The Haunting of Hill House plays at Richmond Theatre until Saturday 10 October, before touring around the UK until Saturday 21 November.
