Shirley Jackson’s classic horror novel “The Haunting of Hill House” is being adapted for the stage, with a U.K. tour launching this fall. The production marks the latest iteration of Jackson’s 1959 supernatural thriller, following the 2018 Netflix series that brought the story to a new generation of viewers.
The production centers on a group of investigators who take on the mystery of Hill House, with curiosity descending into fear as strange disturbances ripple through the mansion’s corridors.
Olivier and BAFTA award-winner Stef Smith has written the stage adaptation, which will be directed by Martin Constantine. Wiltshire Creative is producing in association with Theatr Clwyd, with Mark Puddle, Alexander “Sandy” Marshall and Patrick Myles presenting.
“From film and television to the stage, my mother Shirley Jackson’s legacy continues to endure through her iconic novel ‘The Haunting of Hill House,’” said Laurence J. Hyman, Jackson’s son. “I’m thrilled that this haunting classic will return in a new form, and that Stef Smith’s adaptation will capture the novel’s remarkable and unsettling spirit for audiences in a whole new way.”
Smith described adapting Jackson’s work as “a true privilege,” calling it “one of the greatest supernatural novels of the last one hundred years.”
“I find Shirley Jackson’s world intoxicating, thrilling and gut-wrenching,” Smith said. “I believe there is something so deeply theatrical at the heart of Hill House. From the spooky, to the surreal, through heartache and hope. I hope that our cast of characters will take the audience along for a ride quite unlike anything else. Above all we will examine that the biggest horrors are usually human.”
The production launches Sept. 11 at Salisbury Playhouse, running through Oct. 3 before transferring to Richmond Theatre Oct. 6-10. The tour continues to Theatr Clwyd (Oct. 13-17), Theatre Royal Brighton (Oct. 20-24), Palace Theatre Manchester (Oct. 27-31), Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse (Nov. 3-7), and concludes at Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh Nov. 10-14.
Jackson (1916-1965) was an American writer celebrated for horror and mystery works. Over her career spanning more than two decades, she authored six novels, two memoirs and more than 200 short stories. Her novels include “The Road Through the Wall,” “Hangsaman,” “The Bird’s Nest,” “The Sundial” and “We Have Always Lived in the Castle.”
Smith’s theater credits include “Roadkill” (Theatre Royal Stratford East, winner of the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre), “Girl in the Machine,” “Swallow” (Traverse Theatre/Edinburgh Festival Fringe) and “Human Animals” (Royal Court Theatre). Her screenwriting credits include “Float,” which won the BAFTA Scotland Award for best television scripted, and “The Outrun.”
Constantine is an award-winning theater and opera director whose theatre credits include “Peter Pan” (Storyhouse Theatre, Chester), “The Owl and the Pussycat” and “Marsha” (Arcola Theatre). His opera credits include “The Elixir of Love,” “The Silent Twins” (Almeida Theatre) and “Dead Man Walking.”
Puddle has over 20 years of experience producing and touring large-scale plays and musicals across the West End, U.K. and internationally. West End highlights include co-producing “Dr. Strangelove” (starring Steve Coogan), “Elektra” (starring Brie Larson), “True West” (starring Kit Harington and Johnny Flynn) and “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole: The Musical.”
The production is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.