The Haunting of Hill House, based on the novel by Shirley Jackson, is a new staged production of this intense thriller. Exactly what is hiding in the shadows of this stunning house. Can a family tragedy leave the grief and hurt buried in the walls ready to torment anyone who dares to stay there?
The model on the righthand side of the stage gives the audience a scale model size of how striking this house is from the outside and the expanse of rooms and areas that are hiding secrets and ghosts. Would you dare to stay there? Especially when even the housekeeper, Mrs Dudley (Sian Howard), will never stay there after dark and makes this crystal clear to the ghost hunting team as soon as they arrive.
Eleanor (Clancy Ryan) arrives at the house to start a month’s stint at the house ghost hunting with a team of others intrigued to unfold the mysterious ghostly encounters taking place in the house. However, as the story unfolds, we discover why she has really wanted to be there and what she is hoping to find.
Joining her are Dr Montague (Jasper Britton), Mrs Montague (Jemma Churchill), Theo (Sophie Lenglinder) and Luke (Glenn Morrissey) who will eventually be inheritating the house and is unlikely to want to live there especially after this month’s ordeal.
Duncan McLean video designer and Will Houstoun Illusion designer make this production stand out from plays I have seen in a similar genre. The base scenery of the house stays the same. It’s the ever changing projections of wallpaper and settings that change the locations of the characters. From the blue bedroom nursery to the defaced green bedroom. Everything moves quickly and incredibly slick. Although the storyline is captivating, it’s worth going to watch this changing shape constantly.
Director Martin Constantine has bought the haunted house storyline to another level with the illusions of the staging and the ghostly encounters that play in the minds of the group of ghost hunters. Is it one that keeps you guessing until the end, or does it?
For more information about The Haunting of Hill House and future productions at Salisbury Playhouse, please use the link below.
Five Stars.
Photo credit Pamela Raith.
https://www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk/events/the-haunting-of-hill-house
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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