DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama to present The Turn of the Screw

15 – 19 January, 2013, Gleeson Theatre, DIT Kevin Street

Celebrating the centenary of the birth of the British composer, Benjamin Britten, DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama is delighted to present his opera The Turn of the Screw.  The Turn of the Screw is considered the finest of Britten’s operatic works, and one of the most dramatically appealing English operas ever to be written.  It has proven a welcome challenge for director Vivian Coates, conductor David Brophy and the Vocal Soloists and Symphony Orchestra of DIT, and their production promises an exciting, visceral piece of musical theatre.

This gripping story tells a gothic tale of good versus evil, natural versus the supernatural, possession, exorcism, suspense, and horror.  A young governess journeys to a lonely English manor house to care for two recently orphaned children, Miles and Flora. But she is not their first governess. Her predecessor, Miss Jessel, drowned herself when she became pregnant by the sadistic valet, Peter Quint, who was, himself, found dead soon after the mysterious circumstances.  Now, the new governess has begun to see the ghosts of Quint and Jessel haunting the children, and she must find a way to stop the fiends before it is too late. But are the spirits real, or are they the product of her fevered imagination? As the threat increases, the Governess will have to confront a brutal truth that will challenge not only her safety and sanity, but also the fate of the children under her charge.

The Conservatory of Music & Drama’s production of The Turn of the Screw runs Tuesday 15 January, Thursday 17^th and Saturday 19^th January at 19.30pm in Gleason Theatre, DIT Kevin Street. There is a cover showing on Wednesday 16 January at 6pm.  Tickets are available from the National Concert Hall Box Office by phone (01)4170000 and online www.nch.ie.  Priced €25 (€10 concession)