The reviews are in for The Turn of the Screw at the Arcola Theatre, where Morgan Lloyd Malcolm has rebuilt Henry James’s 1898 ghost story for Blackeyed Theatre as an interrogation: the governess, played by Amy Tara, made to account for what happened at Bly to a nameless man (Jim Fish) who twists every answer she gives. Press night was 18 September, and the notices that have followed are warm without being unanimous. Almost every critic singles out Toby Beynon and Kathleen McAuley Irvine, adult actors playing the two children and doubling as the dead servants who may or may not have possessed them, and there is broad admiration for Matthew Cassar’s screens, Oliver McNally’s lighting and Hattie North’s sound. The argument is over the framing device: FringeReview calls the reframing masterly, while the Guardian finds the interruptions too numerous and the tension repeatedly reset.
The verdict: twelve notices so far — two five-star, five four-star, one three-and-a-half, three three-star, and one outlet that publishes no rating at all. Across the eleven that do score, the average is 3.9 out of 5. The design team and the two young actors doubling as the children and the ghosts are praised almost everywhere; where the critics part company is Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s interrogation framing, which some read as the adaptation’s point and others as the thing that keeps flattening its dread.
What are critics saying about The Turn of the Screw?
LondonTheatre1
“A masterclass in how a Gothic novel adaptation should be done whilst adding an extra twist or two along the way.”
Reviewer: Sascha Cooper
“Tony Beynon and Kathleen McAuley Irvine displayed this very aspect by embracing the idea of subtly transitioning between two very different people. Beynon’s Miles was a little gentleman who had a little cheekiness to him. Irvine’s Flora was the sweetest little girl who loved to play games. But both of them, through subtle changes in their nature, a deflection, plus an enhanced sense of self-awareness, became the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel, targeting the Governess and the children in question. Both of their subtle shifts in focus gave me the impression of how the Batman villain Two-Face completely changed personalities in the blink of an eye, creating a sense of danger to all involved. Combined with the dramatic backdrop of the Bly house and some interesting shadow work with the lights and sounds, Beynon and Irvine became forces to be reckoned with, performance-wise.”
All That Dazzles
“A gripping gothic tale packed with psychological tension, powerful performances and atmospheric design that keeps you questioning what is real.”
Reviewer: Phil McCullough
“Nicky Allpress’s direction is strong, with a number of theatrical techniques used to enhance the psychological tension throughout the production. There are some nice touches from the auditorium lights flickering to thunder sound effects just before the start of the show, immediately setting the tone as soon as you walk in. The production then begins with a deafening scream that literally made me jump out of my seat and grabbed my attention by the throat. This tension is successfully sustained through engrossing storytelling and just the right mix of horror and psychological unease. It genuinely felt spine tingling when the governess and young Flora were sleeping, and anonymous hands crept into their beds, waking them both from their respective nightmares.”
WhatsOnStage
Reviewer: Julia Rank
“The doubling of Miles and Flora with the silent adult roles of Quint and Jessel was borne of necessity (as Lloyd Malcolm’s programme note explains) but it succeeds in complicating the disturbing relationships between the children and the deceased adults even further. McAuley Irvine’s Flora is characterised by sausage curls and sinister staring facial expressions. As the precocious Miles (perhaps the scariest child in fiction), Beynon is hugely impressive in his professional theatre debut; he is all unsettling charm and his whole body changes with a leer as Quint takes over.”
Theatre and Tonic
Reviewer: Eleanor Bywater
“This production is intercepted by scenes of the Governess being interrogated by an unnamed man (also played by Fish), which is where we really start to question what has truly gone on in Bly. Not a policeman, lawyer or journalist, we are left none the wiser to who this man is and why he is questioning the Governess. This is one frustration I had with this production, as I was really hoping to find out who he was. This aside, these scenes were fabulously directed by director Nicky Allpress and Intimacy and Movement Director Mandy Gordon. A particular favourite was where the Governess finds herself being sucked into a lake, serenely moving as she is washed in cool blue light, designed by Oliver McNally.”
The Spy in the Stalls
Reviewer: Jonathan Evans
“But what truly creates the sense of unease and suspense is Hattie North’s sound design, which spills over into the preshow and interval. Coupled with Oliver McNally’s lighting and the occasional bursts of illusion courtesy of Wayne Fox, there is enough to keep us on the edge of our seats. But the thrills that unnerve the most are the psychological ones. The show works best when it becomes a trial between ‘The Man’ and ‘The Governess’. The chemistry between Fish and Tara is palpable, and reason gets as much of a beating as the inexplicable. The uncertainty of the story comes to the fore and the real ghosts reveal themselves to be the ones in our own minds. In her desperation, the Governess declares that we will never know. The ambiguity of reality indeed. We are left to draw our own conclusions. I can’t help you there, so go and see it for yourself. Feel the fear and do it anyway… as they say.”
A Young(ish) Perspective
“A visually and sensory stimulating piece of theatre”
Reviewer: Rose-Charles Raj
“The visual elements of the play are established from the start with power. Oliver McNally (lighting), Matthew Cassar (costume/set), and Hattie North (sound) work in a seamless synchronicity. Within moments, the physical world with minimal set is fully established and the vastness and depth of the house is actualized with sound and lighting. Sudden sound cues and lighting shifts cause physical reactions and incite fear in the audience.”
Read Rose-Charles Raj’s full review at A Young(ish) Perspective
The Reviews Hub
Reviewer: Scott Matthewman
“Ultimately, the scenario acts as a framing device for the main story, as Tara’s Governess meets and interacts with children Flora (Kathleen McAuley Irvine) and Miles (Toby Beynon). While both exhibit traits that suggest they may be influenced, or even possessed, by the spirits of the dead servants, this is partly because the actors are noticeably adult. While Irvine conveys the sense of a young girl, Beynon’s Miles never quite convinces as a schoolboy.”
The Guardian
“Henry James’s classic ghost story with added jump scares”
Reviewer: Arifa Akbar
“Lloyd Malcolm’s framing device features an unnamed (imaginary or real?) man interrogating the governess’ version of events: that her two seemingly angelic charges are possessed. His accusatory questioning suggests the age-old contention that the woman is an unreliable narrator and unhinged fantasist but his interruptions are too numerous, hampering the buildup of dread and tension. The chopped up nature of the story (you hear what is coming, travelling back and forth in time sequences) has the same effect.”
BroadwayWorld
“Two young actors bring the eerie to a production that undermines its own tension with a choppy narrative”
Reviewer: Gary Naylor
“Toby Benyon (on professional debut) and Kathleen McAuley-Irvine (a recent LAMDA graduate) are revelations doubling as the schoolboy Miles / dead servant Quint and the schoolgirl Flora / drowned governess Miss Jessel. The Arcola can be an unforgiving space for actors, its intimate playing space and hard brick surfaces offering no margin for error in gesture, movement or diction. Both are eerily convincing when playing children old before their time, suffering PTSD long before it had a label and catching that stare that sits halfway between innocence and malevolence.”
West End Best Friend
Reviewer: Kate Soper
“The Turn of the Screw is a solid production with a strong cast and deserves its place as a ghost story on stage. While some improvements could be made with the directing and the writing, including pacing, utilising tension more and jump scares being less heavily reliant on sound, it is certainly worth considering if you are looking for a scary show to watch this autumn.”
FringeReview
“A compelling must-see. A Turn of the Screw for #MeToo.”
Reviewer: Simon Jenner
“What is though is the reframing of the relationship between Quint, Jessel, the Governess and the Master. This is as it were masterly. It runs with what James gives, in ways he might only have nightmared. But the writer of The Portrait of a Lady would hardly have been surprised. This is on it own terms an entirely original, exciting and thoroughly convincing take on the original. Caveat aside – and it might be reworked – this is a compelling must-see. A Turn of the Screw for #MeToo.”
Production photographs by Alex Brenner.
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Neil Norman, four stars, “Solid and acutely relevant”), whose review sits behind a paywall. Its rating is first-hand and counted in the average above; the quote is not reproduced here because the body of the piece is not public.
More critical verdicts from the past week: our roundups of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: New Works at Sadler’s Wells and Thelma & Louise: A New Musical at the Young Vic collect what the critics made of two very different openings.
The Turn of the Screw runs at the Arcola Theatre, Studio 1, until 10 October 2026, and then tours.
