Gaslight: Great set and good acting but production drags on
Since its London premiere in December 1938, Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight has been staged all over the world. The narrative, which successfully wraps the fragile human psyche into a crime setting, attracts audiences and artists alike to this day.
The story is set in Victorian era London and explores an intentionally abusive relationship between Jack Manningham and his wife Bella. Jack’s goal is to gradually drive his wife insane by constantly making her doubt her memory and perception. He plays his cards well, in a startling portrayal of the form of abuse that has become synonymous with the play’s name. He is sadistically cruel to Bella, aggressively bullying her, suggesting she inherited her mother’s madness, falsely blaming her for misplacing small objects, and grows increasingly unpredictable in his mood towards her. And if this were not enough, whenever he does leave, Bella is surrounded by dimming gas lights and the sound of footsteps from the abandoned floor above. Couldn’t these just be yet another creation of her delusional mind? Then one evening, while Jack is out yet again, a stranger comes to the house and changes the chain of events, and her life. …
