Gemma Jones, Anna Madeley and Orlando Wells will hope to set spines a-shiver when they star in Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s new stage adaptation of Henry James’ spooky story The Turn Of The Screw at the Almeida theatre next year.
Jones, who was last seen on the Islington venue’s stage in August Strindberg’s The Dance Of Death, has worked extensively on stage and screen. Her theatre credits include The Family Reunion at the Donmar Warehouse and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof at the Lyric theatre, while on screen she has appeared in films including Sense And Sensibility, Bridget Jones’ Diary and Harry Potter.
Her co-star Madeley appeared at the Almeida last year in Gina Gionfriddo’s Becky Shaw, having previously appeared in productions including the National Theatre’s Earthquakes In London and Coram Boy, Contractions and Ladybird at the Royal Court, and Private Lives on Broadway.
Wells, who starred in hit film The King’s Speech alongside Colin Firth, has appeared on stage in productions including West End long-runner The Woman In Black, the NT’s The History Boys, Pirandello’s Henry IV at the Donmar Warehouse and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello and Antony And Cleopatra for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The trio will be joined in the cast by Call The Midwife’s Eoin Geoghegan, Caroline Bartleet (Look Back In Anger, The Circle Game) and Laurence Belcher (The Habit Of Art, The Late Middle Classes, Mary Poppins), while young actresses Isabella Blake, Emelia Jones and Lucy Morton will alternate the role of Flora.
Directed by Lindsay Posner with designs by Olivier Award-winner Peter McKintosh, The Turn Of The Screw tells the story of a governess who arrives at a remote estate in Bly to care for siblings Miles and Flora. Charming her with flowers, poetry and song, their guardian soon grows to love the two children but when figures appear in the darkness outside she must confront her fear and protect them from the alarming danger that surrounds them.
The Turn Of The Screw will open at the Almeida theatre following the world premiere of Nick Dear’s The Dark Earth And The Light Sky, which plays until 12 January.