Gaslight

Exmouth Players

Gaslight

By Patrick Hamilton

Directed by Clare Philbrock

The Blackmore Theatre

Exmouth

Thursday 10th October 2024

 

‘Tricia Barclay

NODA SW Representative District 6

The “in character” front of house announcement at the start of this production immediately threw us back in time  and to the East End of London  before the curtains opened onto a well decorated solidly constructed set, and this classic, well-known Victorian thriller.

The setting is the drawing-room of Jack Manningham’s home where he is slowly and calculating  undermining his already mentally frail  wife Bella, making her believe that she is slowly descending into insanity.

The tension was palpable from the start as Manningham, ensconced in an armchair behind his newspaper, deliberately finds fault with Bella in every way, while at the same time blatantly casting a lascivious eye on Nancy the maid.

Bella takes every criticism to heart and promises to “try harder” in the belief that she is following her poor mother down the road to the madhouse, but Jack remains cold and unbending teasing her with a trip to the theatre at one moment only to cruelly rescind it at the next.

It is Jack’s practice to leave Bella alone in the evenings as he ostensibly goes out about town, and during these periods she experiences peculiar happenings in the room. The gaslights go down  and she hears footsteps  across the floor from the supposedly empty rooms upstairs, all adding to her feelings of paranoia. 

An element of light relief and hope arrives in the personage of former Policeman, Inspector Rough, who urgently outlines  his suspicions about her husband and his past nefarious connections to the house and its former owner.

Rough persuades her to cast aside all her medicines and promises if she tries  his “own brand” it will definitely improve her spirits! His description of his Scotch Whiskey as a mixture of “ambrosia and methylated spirits” brought a welcome ripple of laughter around the audience and a break in the tense situation.

Act II certainly saw the tables turned on Jack and happily Bella with Rough’s guidance was able to wreak her revenge.

Everything was excellently played by all the performers. 

Jack was completely menacing, controlling and coercive from the start, emanating an aura of sinister foreboding which crept out into the auditorium like a Victorian fog on a chilly night. His lecherous feelings for Nancy were clearly and openly displayed, taking satisfaction from making Bella feel even more disquieted.

Bella made the perfect foil, not overplaying the role she  slipped seamlessly between feelings of excitement and melancholy.  Forever striving to be the dutiful wife she danced to his every tune, one minute playful and animated only to be verbally shot down at every turn and descend once again into doubt and despair. She certainly had the measure though of Nancy , and once convinced of her husband’s duplicity showed strength of character at the end.  

Inspector Rough brought a warmth to the proceedings and gave a very well-played and endearing performance with the audience routing for Bella to believe him as he outlined Jack’s suspected misdemeanours. At this performance he quickly covered his mistake when he addressed someone by the wrong  name - never missing a beat!

It was good to see a familiar face back on-stage playing Elizbeth the housekeeper, her expressions and every move showing disdain and disapproval for her employer and his behaviour.

Nancy the maid was also convincingly played. Her flirtatiousness with Jack and her cocky and insolent attitude towards Bella believable as was the premise of her gossiping with a compatriot of Rough’s thus unwittingly  helping to throw light on his suspicions.

The two arresting officers at the end both looked suitably stern.

The set, costumes and props for this well directed production were just right with some interesting features, notably the black lace curtains either side of the stage. Initially these were draped back but untied  early in the action and made the perfect vantage point to peep out and “watch” the comings and goings in the street, while also adding to the eeriness and period of the production.

The staircase, complete with bannisters, SL was impressive but made for difficult sight lines on occasion from the right-hand side of the auditorium, particularly during the tea table scenes.

Lighting and sound complemented the piece perfectly. The initial “lighting” of the lamps with a taper was very effective as was the dimming and raising  of the levels  as the action dictated, and  certainly added to the atmosphere.

This was a very tense, riveting and thought-provoking production, not without parallels today. The programme was cleverly designed to reflect the history and the violent crimes of the times while thoughtfully including  contact information for current organisations offering support.

Very well done!

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