Gaslight

By Patrick Hamilton

Directed by Sandra Barfield

Gaslighting at its very best! 

Discover It’s Chilling Truth! 

In an upper-middle class home in London, 1880, Jack Manningham paces as his nervous young wife, Bella, waits for his daily, unexplained disappearance. Refusing to tell her where he is going, he undermines her, flirting openly with the servants in front of her. When she expresses her fear, saying she hears footsteps on the floor above during his absences, he belittles her, saying she is hearing things.  As Jack’s manipulation increases, and his temper becomes more unpredictable, Bella begins to think she is losing her sanity.

When police detective Rough visits Bella, he explains that the apartment above was once occupied by a wealthy woman called Alice Barlow, who was murdered for her jewels and the murderer was never found. Why do the gas lights dim shortly after Jack leaves? Can Bella trust the gravelly detective, or is she really losing her mind?

This dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery is the very definition of ‘Gaslighting’, the psychological manipulation where the victim questions their own perceptions.

***The play that defined toxic masculinity – The Guardian***

***Gaslight remains a powerful and thought-provoking play, with a plot that’s intriguing and full of surprises, underpinned by a creeping tension throughout. – Theatre Things***

***THE TIMES says, "This is a black diamond of a drama; flawed, but darkly glittering."***