The Haunting (NHB Modern Plays) E-Book

Charles Dickens.

• Herausgeber: Nick Hern Books
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

A spine-chilling play by Hugh Janes, based on several original ghost stories by Charles Dickens. In an ancient, crumbling mansion, sheltering from the howling winds that tear across the surrounding desolate moorland, two men stumble across a dark and terrifying secret that will change both of their lives. When a young book dealer, David Filde, is employed by a former associate of his uncle to catalogue a private library, he finds an incredible array of rare and antiquated books. But as a series of strange and unexplained events conspires to keep Filde from his work, he realises that if he is to convince his sceptical employer that the mysterious phenomena he is experiencing are real, they must journey together to the very edge of terror, and beyond... The play offers rich material for amateur theatre companies or student groups who want to introduce their audiences to another side of Dickens' work - and have them jump out of their seats at the same time. 'The Haunting revels in the old-fashioned power of simple theatrical tricks, and basks in the shrieks and gasps of an audience that is clearly part of the event'- Scotsman 'Great pace and terrific suspense... guaranteed to raise goosebumps'- Maidenhead Advertiser 'Gripping... and fascinating too'- British Theatre Guide

Leseprobe

Hugh Janes

THE HAUNTING

Adapted from ghost stories by

Charles Dickens

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

Production Notes

Original Production

Characters

The Haunting

About the Authors

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Production Notes

Hugh Janes

Bill Kenwright commissioned this play for production at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, followed by a national tour. These notes are based on that original production and the creative ideas behind it.

Adapting from Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens wrote some of the most popular novels in the English language. The richness of his characters, narrative descriptions, his concern for social reform, his comedy and his strong storylines mean his work is continually being adapted into one medium or the other. When I came to write The Haunting, I thought all Dickens’ ghost stories had probably been done too – but no.

I already had the basic idea for the story; one of my uncles was an antiquarian book dealer in Brighton and, during a visit to an old Sussex manor, he was looking at some books in the cellar when a woman appeared. She watched him for a while and then vanished; he knew she was a ghost. He returned to the manor on several occasions, hoping to find out more about her, and it was written about in the local press, but the woman never reappeared. Although my uncle’s story was a start, I needed more and fortunately came across some of Dickens’ short ghost stories, which appeared either as independent pieces, or were included as part of a novel.

Individually the tales didn’t strike me as dramatic enough for the stage, so The Haunting is a blend of five short stories with elements of Dickens’ private life, his books and letters. The fog that creeps off the river crept straight out of Bleak House and the short ghost tales The Queer Chair and A Madman’s Manuscript both appeared in The Pickwick Papers (1837). The Haunted House came out under its own name in the Christmas 1859 issue of All the Year Round. The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber is taken from The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices, which itself appeared in Household Words in 1857, which he edited. The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain was published in 1848 and ends with the words ‘Lord, keep my memory green.’

Many aspects of The Haunting, especially the character of David, are based on Dickens himself. He was a great reader and a solitary walker. When he worked on A Christmas Carol, which he called ‘this ghostly little tale’, he ‘never left home before the owls went out’ and ‘walked about the streets of London, fifteen and twenty miles, many a night when all the sober folks had gone to bed’.

Dickens was fascinated by spiritualism and often visited mediums. Even after he learned the nature of their gimmickry he continued to visit. He loved trickery and was a proficient magician himself. He describes how he and a friend entertained a large gathering of children at Christmas with ‘wonderful conjuring tricks. A plum pudding was produced from an empty saucepan, held over a blazing fire kindled in Stanfield’s hat without damage to the lining.’

Dickens’ wife, Catherine, had a young sister Mary, who doted on him, and when she was sixteen went to live with the family. One evening they all returned home from the theatre and Mary went up to bed. Moments later she uttered a terrible choking cry and died the following day. She was seventeen. Dickens took a ring from her finger and wore it for the rest of his life. His deep feelings for her were displayed in a letter to Mary’s mother. ‘After she died I dreamed of her… sometimes as a spirit, sometimes as a living creature… I never lay down at night without the hope of the visitor coming back to me in one shape or other.’ My inspiration for the character of Mary came from this revelation.

The Ghost and Effects

What cannot be seen is often more terrifying than what can, and this is certainly true in The Haunting. The bride is not frightening when clearly lit and is a much more effective apparition when glimpsed briefly. For those few times she is onstage, she should be a shadowy, spectral figure who appears suddenly.

The first time she is seen is in a lightning flash, and in this case she should be brilliantly lit but for a very short time. The sightlines of the French windows should not prevent any member of the audience seeing the ghost in the tree.

The use of light and sound are important elements in a play that sets out to scare an audience. Darkness, shadows and flickering half-light, prevalent in the days before electric light in the home, are an asset here. The less we see of the ghost and the greater use that is made of what might be lurking in the gloom, the better the chances of startling the audience. Raising the volume of a sound cue is enough to cause an audience to jump. It is important to create an atmosphere of the unexpected, and the noises around the house and the character’s uncertainty about what is happening all add to this mood. Some eerie music can also be used at the start and in scene breaks to good effect.

Set and Design

The play is set c. 1865 and the costumes should reflect this period and the social positions of the characters.

The house in which the study is set is from a much earlier period and described as ‘the obsolete whim of a forgotten architect’. The original production’s set benefited from numerous angles and period features that facilitated the ghost’s appearances – she was never seen ‘coming on’, but was suddenly in the room.

Although a lot of books are required, there is no need to fill the bookshelves with real ones. A run of false spines was quicker for stage management to remove in scene breaks, as if David had taken them down for cataloguing and packing.

The idea for the set came partly from a description in The Haunted Man and partly from an engraving by artist Robert Buss, which shows Dickens sleeping in a chair in his study surrounded by the spirits of his characters and books. A photograph of the same room and an illustration called ‘The Empty Chair’ by Sir Samuel Fildes, who illustrated The Mystery of Edwin Drood, provided complementary elements.

Furniture and fittings can be any period prior to 1865, but the Victorian style seems to suit the mood of the play perfectly.

Thanks

I would like to thank Bill Kenwright, Josh Andrews, Tim Welton and Hugh Wooldridge for their help in bringing the original production to life.