The new theatre at Grange Park proves an ideal venue for the most concentrated of Benjamin Britten's operas, The Turn of the Screw. Its dry acoustic helps to reinforce the impact of Britten's ghost story, a piece that combines the tautest of musical arguments with an unerring feeling for atmosphere.
Musically, with Lionel Friend conducting the Orchestra of Grange Park, the production is excellent, and every word comes over clearly from a strong cast of principals. The children are well-cast. Megan Kelly has already sung the role of Flora for English National Opera; here her projection is clear and fresh, her performance brilliant and unforced. As Britten prescribes, the role of Miles is taken by a boy-treble, William Sheldon; his voice is bright, if inevitably lacking in power.
It is David Fielding's production that inspires reservations. Andrew Walsh's set, a bare box with a monstrous school blackboard as a regular backdrop, allows slick scene changes, while a stylised doll's house indicates the real background. At times of crisis the doll's house is even slung upside-down as a symbol. But the potentially creepy effect of this setting is undermined by the updating of the costumes to the 1930s. The production's corresponding modernity proves mundane rather than mysterious.
When the Governess enters, she appears distracted and scattily spills her clothes out of her suitcase, even though the music clearly tells you that she arrives in a horse-drawn carriage, which is far more evocative. More seriously, when the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel arrive, there is nothing otherworldly about them; even the horrific moment when the Governess finds Miss Jessel sitting at her desk seems prosaic. Mystery is reduced to a minimum, and one has to rely on the music to inspire the necessary creepiness.
That it does effectively. Natasha Marsh sings powerfully and movingly in the role of the Governess, and though Clarissa Meek seems rather young for the role of the housekeeper, Mrs Grose, her singing is excellent, firm and clear. Janis Kelly characterises strongly as Miss Jessel, a malevolent force, and Jeffrey Lloyd Roberts puts a distinctive slant on his two roles, Peter Quint and the Prologue. He is helped by the words, yet hampered by the 1930s setting.
· In rep until July 11. Box office: 020-7320 5588.
