Review: The Turn of the Screw

Review: The Turn of the Screw | Elemental Theatre Company | at the Three Leaches, Lakewood, CO | Curtain Up | Eric Fitzgerald

Elemental Theatre Company’s production of The Turn of the Screw, directed by Jeamus Wilkes, delivers a steady, atmospheric take on Henry James’s ghost story while marking another confident step in the company’s developing artistic identity. It’s a solid, thoughtfully shaped staging that leans into psychological tension and intimate storytelling, allowing the ambiguity at the heart of the tale to do the work.

Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation distills Henry James’s 1898 novella of the same name into a taut, two‑person chamber piece, preserving the story’s famous ambiguity while sharpening its theatrical edges. James’s tale—long debated for its blend of psychological unease and possible supernatural intrusion—provides the foundation, and Hatcher’s script heightens that tension by stripping the narrative to its essentials, letting the audience sit squarely inside its unsettling uncertainty.

The story centers on the two figures known simply as The Woman (Jaccie Serbus) and The Man (Staci York), whose retelling of the Governess’s experiences at Bly becomes the frame through which the audience enters Henry James’s unsettling world. As they recount the Governess’s arrival and her growing concern for the children in her care, the narrative tightens around the strange occurrences that begin to shadow the estate. Their shifting perspectives give the tale its charge, inviting the audience to consider whether the haunting is literal, psychological, or something more elusive.

Jaccie Serbus makes an auspicious Elemental Theatre debut as The Woman, and she does it with a presence that sneaks up on you. Her performance has a lived‑in quality—not showy, not ornamental, just deeply felt in a way that gives the story its center of gravity. Even as she moves through the additional characters required by the adaptation, she keeps the emotional thread intact, shifting with a subtlety that never breaks the spell. What emerges is a performance that feels grounded and human, as if she’s not merely recounting the Governess’s story but wrestling with what it means to hold it. It’s thoughtful work, and it lingers.

Staci York’s work as The Man—and in the handful of other characters she slips into along the way—has a quiet charge. The gender‑swap casting is there if you want to notice it, but York never leans on it; instead, she builds the role from sharp observation and controlled energy. What stands out is her ability to pivot cleanly between personas without breaking the story’s spell. York keeps everything taut and contained, giving the production a cool, steady counterweight that complements Serbus’s more open emotionality.

Jeamus Wilkes returns to directing after a 26‑year absence with a production that feels anything but tentative. What he’s crafted here is a quietly spellbinding take on The Turn of the Screw—a piece that understands the value of restraint and lets atmosphere do the heavy lifting. Wilkes shapes the world of the play with a sure hand, trusting the material’s ambiguity and the actors’ precision to carry the tension. The result is a staging that feels confident, cohesive, and surprisingly intimate, as though he’s slipped back into the director’s chair with the ease of someone who never really left it.

Costume designer Kati Oltyan offers fine, unfussy work that supports the story without ever pulling focus. Her choices feel rooted in the world of the play—simple, period‑leaning pieces that help the actors slip between characters with ease. Lighting and sound designer Char Worthey provides an equally steady foundation, shaping the atmosphere with clean cues and well‑placed shifts in tone. Nothing is overplayed; instead, both designs work in quiet tandem to keep the audience anchored in the story’s unease, proving that subtlety can be its own kind of strength.

Elemental Theatre Company continues to show meaningful growth, and this production feels like another clear step forward. Since their founding, they’ve made steady strides in shaping a distinct artistic identity—lean, intentional, and willing to take on material that asks something of both the performers and the audience. The Turn of the Screw is a prime example of what they’re capable of: a focused, well‑crafted piece that demonstrates not just ambition, but follow‑through. It’s the kind of work that suggests a company settling confidently into its own voice.

Under Jeamus Wilkes’s deft direction and anchored by two sublime performances, The Turn of the Screw becomes a quietly gripping piece of theatre. Elemental’s production leans into the story’s unease without overstating it, offering a polished reminder of what thoughtful staging can do. It plays through October 11 at The Three Leaches Theatre.

For Information and Tickets: https://elementaltheatrecompany.org/