The Torch Theatre invites you, as it did the Governess, to Bly Manor in an adaptation of Jeffrey Hatcher’s script, based on the original 1898 novella by Henry James.

A sudden start thrusts you immediately into this Victoria era tale, where a narrator introduces the aforementioned Governess as she is employed to take care of Miles and Flora, the children of the Manor.

Having to compact a mansion and estate into one stage is not the easiest of tasks, but the smart production succeeds. The set feeds into the story, asking the audience to fill in the blanks, but still offering enough structure and features to give a strong base of the scope and intricacies of Bly Manor. This Brechtian-like approach allows you to consider what is going on beneath the surface, while the surface plays out in front of us.

This leads on to our main actors - Samuel Freeman and Seren Vickers. Both give captivating and adaptable performances throughout, managing to blend the light-hearted pleasantries with the darker moments. Often doing so within the same scene.

Freeman, who plays three roles, changes seamlessly between characters and has an acute understanding of each’s tone. Vickers, meanwhile, grapples with the unsettling undercurrent of the Governess expertly. The character’s kindly, verging on the overly-kindly nature is dialled up as the play progresses and both actors deliver in helping tick up the tension and immersing you in their Gothic world.

If you want a perfect chiller in the run up to Halloween, look no further than the Torch this October. Click here for tickets. 

Image: Lloyd Grayshon, Media to Motion