Trigger warning: This review discusses a production containing themes of child loss and miscarriage.
W.W. Jacobs’s most famous work, The Monkey’s Paw is a ghost story with a straightforward message – be careful what you wish for. A cautionary tale about tempting fate, this Edwardian horror story has been the subject of many adaptations, the most recent of which is currently playing at The Hope Theatre. But when the power of a story lies in its simplicity, is it advisable to adapt it into an 80 minute play?
The original story sees the Whites come into the possession of a mummified monkey’s paw, which can apparently grant the owner three wishes. Failing to heed the warning that use of the mysterious artefact comes with consequences, they wish for £200. They get it, but only as compensation for the sudden death of their son, Herbert in a workplace accident. Wish number 2 sees Mrs White seek Herbert’s return, but when a chilling knock comes on the door, Mr White swiftly uses their final wish to avoid finding out what lies behind it.
Infinite Space Theatre’s production starts strongly, beginning at the end as the Whites hear the ominous knocking at the door. The scene is set for a spine-tingling evening of horror (with much credit here due to set designer, Hannah Williams and prop design by Gisela Mulindwa) as we flash back to where this story starts, but unfortunately this is where things start to unravel. In an attempt to expand the short story, the production takes the core themes and weaves them into something incohesive.
In this version the Whites are a newlywed couple, John (Stephen Maddocks) and Jenny (Joesphine Rogers), who are struggling with poverty and child loss, as WWI ravages around them. Echoing the couple’s own losses, John’s work at a museum brings him into contact with an unidentified Mummy; a child found deep in an Egyptian Queen’s tomb. This is also where he finds the eponymous hairy hand, accidentally wasting two wishes before realising the paw’s power and asking it for what his wife desires. (In this version, both of them get a trio of wishes, allowing Jenny to pick up where John left off.)
While John sets off on an obsessive quest to identify the mummified child, Jenny seems to be similarly obsessed with a cloth baby that later transforms into a rather creepy puppet. For the majority of the play, it’s not entirely clear to the audience whether John’s wish has finally brought Jenny what she desires, or if she is increasingly losing touch with reality. This takes all the power out of the eventual wish for £200 and loss of “baby” Herbert.
John’s Egyptian side quest offers a promising parallel with what’s going on at home, but the different strands of the story never really come together. A harrowing backstory about Jenny’s childhood layers on yet more themes of loss, and is brilliantly delivered by Rogers, but doesn’t really add anything to the core ghost story.
It’s a shame because there are lots of promising ideas in here, and individual elements of the play are compelling, but they just don’t come together. It almost feels as if there are two or three different plays in one, and the original story is lost somewhere along the way. The ending is confusing, the moral is missing and the promised horror evaporates early on. Ultimately, it ceases to be a scary story and ends up being a cautionary tale of a different kind.
The Monkey’s Paw plays at The Hope Theatre from 21 October to 8 November 2025. We received complimentary tickets to the press performance on 24 October.
Image credit: Cam Harle Photo