The Haunting of Hill House

"We want to make the hair on the back of people's necks stand on end", says Marlowe Players actress Marjorie Howarth.

Bold company, the Marlowes. To produce chills and fright is doubly as difficult as provoking smiles and laughter.

They pulled it off splendidly a few years ago with Veronica's Room, so deliciously unsettling it made the whole scalp prickle.

The Haunting of Hill House sounded promising.

The opening paragraph of Shirley Jackson's novel tells us that "Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within".

Here was a tale of a "Disturbed" house - in both senses, as a group of people check it out for psychic phenomenon.

The group includes the future heir of the property.

However, the house is already possessed ...

In the first half, we hear that Hill House is "biding it's time". So is the play.

"Why are we here?" cried a voice. Given the uncertain opening, punctuated with prompts, I began to wonder myself.

Then there is a wonderfully unsettling scene, which makes the audience shudder. You begin to sense the fear of Jenny Cooper's Eleanor, a timid psychic.

But just as this production showed signs of promise, the drama doesn't quite escalate.

It's a brave try, but overall this is only a moderately satisfying melodrama, lacking a little in creative direction and focused performances.

It called for more imagination in lighting, sound effects and score.

The production builds an occasional sense of unease, but it doesn't turn sufficiently menacing, sinister or scary.

The only chill I felt was one of slight disappointment.

Aside from the odd jolting moment, the hairs on the back of my neck stayed put.

- Ashley Franklin