The Haunting of Hill House stage adaptation to tour the UK this autumn

A new stage adaptation of supernatural novel The Haunting of Hill House will tour the UK this year, written by Stef Smith.

Directed by Martin Constantine, the play will open at the Salisbury Playhouse on 11th September, before running at Richmond Theatre, Theatr Clwyd, Theatre Royal Brighton.

Palace Theatre Manchester, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum, where it will conclude its tour on 14th November.

The show is based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel and comes in the wake of a Netflix adaptation of the story, which was first streamed in 2018.

Smith, who won an Olivier award for writing Roadkill at Theatre Royal Stratford East, called Jackson’s original book “one of the greatest supernatural novels of the last 100 years”.

“To have the chance to adapt it for the Stage is a true privilege. I find Shirley Jackson’s world intoxicating, thrilling and gut-wrenching. I believe there is something so deeply theatrical at the heart of Hill House,” she said.

The Haunting of Hill House is produced by Wiltshire Creative in association with Theatr Clwyd, and presented on tour by Mark Puddle with Alexander Marshall and Patrick Myles.

Cast and creative team are still to be announced.

The story follows a group investigating the mysteries of Hill House, where their research leads to unsettling events within the building. The production draws on Jackson’s novel, which has previously inspired film and television adaptations.

Smith explained her creative drive: “The Haunting of Hill House is one of the greatest supernatural novels of the last one hundred years and to have the chance to adapt it for the stage is a true privilege. I find Shirley Jackson’s world intoxicating, thrilling and gut-wrenching. I believe there is something so deeply theatrical at the heart of Hill House. From the spooky, to the surreal, through heartache and hope.”

Jackson, who lived from 1916 to 1965, wrote six novels, two memoirs and more than 200 short stories during her career, including The Road Through the Wall, Hangsaman, The Bird’s Nest, The Sundial and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.