Following a good meal at the Mediterranean Cruise Cafe, my Arts Editor and I attended a performance of Turn of the Screw, a play by Jeffrey Hatcher based on a story by Henry James, as performed by The Chameleon Theatre Circle at the Ames Center in Burnsville, MN. This is an excellent production featuring, as specified in the script, two performers and a minimal stage, although one might argue that the lighting designer might be due a performing credit because of how well lighting enhances the performance of the actors.
The story concerns a governess, in 1870s England, hired to manage two children, the niece and nephew of the governess’ employer. Who is he? Why does he wish to have no interactions? What happened to previous employees?
And why are madhouses reputed to be populated by … governesses?
The gentleman actor, Mark L. Mattison, plays the mysterious employer, his nephew, and the cook with equal facility, allowing our imaginations out of their pens; but this is not to belittle the efforts of the lady,Laura Hoover, who while only playing the single role of the governess, has a presence equal to that of Mr. Mattison. They play off each other through the medley of relationships with a fine fettle, more or less successfully diverting our attention, like any fine magician, from the inevitable plot holes and questionable omissions that exist in every … ghost story.
And how do I know it was fine? Because I began to make up one of my own …
