Gaslight

Gaslight, written in the 1930s but set in the late Victorian era, by Patrick Hamilton, is a play with a message. The author used the play to express his concern about the way some husbands waged nasty and methodical campaigns of mental abuse against their wives. 

And  in 2019 the play’s message seems more prescient than ever.

Alice Adams strikes the right note as Mrs Manningham. The wife of an apparently wealthy man in a comfortable home it is clear from the start that she is not just under the thumb of her husband but is subject to something more sinister. Alice’s portrayal of Mrs Manningham neatly balances her frustration as a person blamed for various items going missing in unexplained and mysterious situations with a feeling that the reason for this happening is nothing to do with her.

Josh Ryan gives the audience a very strong impression of the martinet that is Mr Manningham, both in speech and body language expressing the feeling that, not only is he master of the house but also the manipulative and cruel master of his wife. On first night not quite as relaxed in the part as I’d have liked to see – I think the role needs a degree of swagger. Manningham has, after all, got away with murder.

Making up the trio of principals in the play is Rough, a private detective, played by Scott Saffrey. Rough is a semi-comic character who has something very serious to tell Mrs Manningham. He also has a score to settle with Manningham. Scott accomplished this demanding challenge quite well, though an ex-policeman might adopt a rather more businesslike approach in spite of his obvious empathy with the victim he wants to help. A little more pace would have helped.

Lisa Saffrey plays one of the maids, Elizabeth, with quiet assurance and Bethan Workman plays Nancy, the under maid who openly connives with Manningham in his efforts to undermine his wife but in an interesting twist, also attempts, with some success, to manipulate him!. Bethan needs to approach the role with just a little more confidence.

The set is serviceable but, I felt, a little spartan. Surely the scariest thing about the plot is that the ‘gaslighting’ takes place in a comfortable and affluent domestic setting with all the features that remind us of that; the set needed to be dressed accordingly.  

That said, Jim Howson and his hard-working cast are to be commended on this production of a very wordy play,  which is, in spite of its concern with a modern problem, quite dated. 

My thanks to Brackley Players for their hospitality and an entertaining night out.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.