Now over halfway through our production of The Turn of the Screw, we sat down with our Lighting Designer, Katy Morison, to talk about the creative process behind bringing light and shadow to this haunting production.

In this Q&A, Katy shares an insight into her creative vision, creative influences, and the collaborative process that helped illuminate Henry James’ ghostly story on our stage. 

Could you tell us a bit about your background? 

I’m a Lighting Designer, based in Ystrad Mynach near Caerphilly, and have been working with theatre companies in Wales and across the UK for over 14 years.  Before that, I was Deputy Chief Electrician at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff for 7 years, having graduated from The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, with a Postgraduate Diploma in Stage Management and Technical theatre.  Before that I studied Drama at Hull University. 

What was your overall lighting concept or vision for the turn of the screw?

I wanted to convey the shadowy and secretive nature of Bly House, to heighten the tense or supernatural moments, and to put our audience into the environment that the Governess finds herself. I also wanted to really complement the amazing sculptural nature of Ruth’s set design. 

What was your approach to designing the lighting for the Turn of The Screw? Did you draw inspiration from areas such as film or theatre to design the lighting for this production? 

Yes, I was definitely thinking about old black and white, horror and film-noir films when I was imagining how our show would look.  I also thought the set reminded me of an Escher painting with lots of levels, steps and angles to play with so I loved trying to emulate some of those iconic lighting looks. 

What kind of collaboration took place between you and the director or set designer?

I saw Ruth’s initial ideas fairly early on so I could start to imagine how we might incorporate lighting and the tone she was wanting to set.  We looked together at how the set could hide some lighting elements, such as the batten lights we put underneath the ‘cloister’ arches, the LED lights we put inside the lake and how to create a big, bold pattern of light through the window that would cast down the stairs.  All the different angles, doorways, windows and cloisters were a real treat for me as a lighting designer to shoot lights in different directions to make some striking images. 

I also had meetings with Chelsey to talk about the mood for each section of the play, how we would want the audience to feel and how we might add to the tension or ’spooky’ moments. The collaboration continued throughout the technical rehearsals, where I offered Chelsey some ideas and she would input her own thoughts. It’s the best bit of making theatre!

How did the set design or costume palette influence your lighting choices? Did any of Ruth’s design choices shift your approach

The colour palette of the set was great to wo?rk with as it played to my favourite tones. I love keeping it quite monochrome, shifting shades of white from cold to warm just enough to change the mood onstage. The skeletal nature of the structure of the house and especially the tower were really fun to work with, and it led me to try some big back lights that shine right through from behind and give us a really powerful shadowy image on stage (look out for it during the interval!)

Were there any ideas that changed significantly once you saw the show during rehearsals?

The final scene was so powerful once I saw it in rehearsals that it definitely made me realise we could go quite dramatic with the lighting. I love really going to town on these more ‘unrealistic’ moments and putting the fear of God (literally!) into our audience. 

How do you use lighting to create feelings of suspense or unease for the audience? 

Shadow is as important as light in a show like this. It’s more scary when you can’t see what is happening or what is being talked about, so I loved creating lots of dark corners and just enough tiny hints of light to make the house feel threatening.  

Are there any visual metaphors or recurring lighting used to highlight key moments or things in the show?

Yes, we decided early on that we wouldn’t want to actually ‘see’ any of the ghosts or spirits in the show, so we decided that light could play a big part in this. You’ll notice that whenever the Governess ‘sees’ a ghost, there is a flickering or pulsing of light rather than an actual representation of the figure she is describing, often it is only seen as a reflection on her face. This repeats and builds to a climax in the storm. 

What do you hope the audience subconsciously feel because of your lighting choices?

I hope that they feel unsettled by the darkness I have left, and feel chilled by the low, cold light that is often lighting the scenes at night.  I use a lot of sidelight in this show to give a very sculptural look to the set. Also, the actors- we rarely see their faces fully lit from the front, so I hope this will add to the mystery of who the characters really are. 

What excites you most about audiences finally seeing your lighting choices in action?

I’m hoping that the style of this show is something a bit different to other plays the audience may have seen, and they will enjoy what an impact lighting can have on the narrative of a play. 

The Turn of The Screw will be showing at the Torch Theatre until Saturday 25 October.

Image: Lloyd Grasyhon, Media to Motion

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