Gaslight, Melbourne Comedy Theatre

“IN THIS WORLD THERE IS ALWAYS DANGER FOR THOSE WHO ARE AFRAID OF IT.”
– George Bernard Shaw

The term gaslighting has become a popular word in popular culture, used to describe a type of abuse and manipulation.  It is the act of making someone seem or feel unstable, irrational and not credible, making them feel like what they’re seeing or experiencing isn’t real, that they’re making it up, that no one else will believe them.

Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play introduced us to the powerful term we now use to describe an insidious form of deception and manipulation,and as the play opens we see Bella Manningham, a young, beautiful and somewhat timid woman in the throws of a mental health crisis.

Like a beautiful bird in a gilded cage, Bella is trapped in a house where she she hears strange noises. The sitting-room gas lamps dim for no apparent reason, things move seemingly on their own. Bella only has the support of her doting husband Jack and  sensible the house keeper Elizabeth to help her with her delusions, but is Jack all that he seems, or is something more sinister going on?

Set in just one room, as we delve into  a snapshot in time, the set design by Renee Mulder is exquisite – the room has a three dimensional feel that creates the illusion of an entire house in a small space. As characters come and go, it really gives the appearance of a fully functioning house.

Adapted from Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play of the same name, Gaslight stars Geraldine Hakewell  and Toby Schmitz as Bella and Jack Manningham, and is directed by Lee Lewis, artistic director of Queensland Theatre. Exploring themes of deception, manipulation, and strong themes of abuse, the play takes place entirely within one room, the sitting room of the Manningham’s London home, where y turns into night, twilight into sunrise through the exceptional use of lighting.  The challenging task of making the set both realistic and believable is done increadibly well, and audiences are not once taken out of the fantasy, viewers are fully emerged the entire time.

Whilst the theme is heavy and the story is suspenseful Geraldine Hakewell is exceptional as Bella, her fragility almost palatable at times, and distressing to witness. At the beginning of the play we see Jack ( Toby Schmitz) as the long suffering husband,however as the plot unfolds our perceptions of him soon change.

Gaslight is a brilliant, suspenseful thriller that takes you on a ride, lets you into the world and mind of the characters and lands you right in the middle of what is a very clever yet surprising twist.

Words by Amanda Lee Starkey