Arcola theatre, London
This slick production of Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s adaptation is hampered by its own cleverness
Here is Henry James’s canonical ghost story with modern-day jump scares. And, more audaciously, a new framing device by writer-adapter, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, which explains itself in a final, added, twist.
The jump scares do their work, Hattie North’s jagged sound design enacting its shocks, and the production is slick and stylised – but not all the elements pay off.
At Arcola theatre, London, until 10 October
