Skip to main content

'Gaslight' review- Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

From the moment the lights come on, it is clear that something is not right in the Manningham household. Set in Victorian Britain, the 1938 Patrick Hamilton play is where the term ‘gaslighting’ originates from- and it does not take long to work out why. Domineering Jack Manningham [Rupert Young] has psychologically manipulated his wife Bella [Kara Tointon] into doubting her sanity, in order to achieve his own aims. When a peculiar retired police officer [Keith Allen] with an acute interest in the life of the Manninghams unexpectedly arrives, this thrilling play truly commences.
While the play begins quite slowly, a sudden twist reveals why the time for heavy character development was necessary. Kara Tointon portrays the maddened Bella with credibility and precision.  Her chilling, stilted stage speech contrasts perfectly with the arrogance of Young's patriarchal Jack. That said, for a character of such turbulence in the play, Young’s portrayal of Jack is understated in the first act, though he eases into the role as the play progresses.  Charlotte Blackledge and Helen Anderson, as the Manningham’s maid and housekeeper respectively, ensure that their contributions to the play do not go unnoticed, bringing complexity to otherwise potentially predictable characters.
However, the highlight of the play is undoubtedly Allen’s charismatic ex-inspector Rough. In a play that is defined appropriately as a psychological thriller, Allen's presence is much needed, as his humorous approach to the character provides light-hearted pauses that distinguish between the moments of relief and horror.
The creative team are also instrumental to the success of ‘Gaslight’. The play’s lighting has a significant contribution to the unravelling of events. Light designer Howard Hudson effectively utilises the lighting to navigate the tone of the action on-stage, with the darkened gas lamps being particularly eerie.
The stage remains the same throughout, with all the action taking place within one lavish Victorian sitting room, finished with paintings, plush armchairs and a piano. Designer David Woodhead masterfully presents the set so that, on closer inspection of the room, there are hints that prosperity is not on the cards for the Manningham household, with a sense of wear and the use of a bland colour palette.
‘Gaslight’ is a play of unnerving schemes and mystery that deals with the still prominent issue of coercive control. Through its tormenting, dark and disturbing nature, the director Anthony Banks ensures that the message of the play is as relevant to today’s audience as it was to its contemporary.
‘Gaslight’ plays at the Lyceum Theatre until 25th February.

 Review based on performance on 20th February 2017.
Image result for gaslight
Wikimedia

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interrail 2016: LAKE BLED

Our longest journey by far turned out to be well worth the pain. Although it was nine hours long and we waited for the wrong bus in Bled for over an hour, we had a Harry Potter compartment and we arrived at our destination- Lake Bled, Slovenia. What a place. We lobbed our bags into the lockers at our hostel and immediately went on the hunt for a restaurant to eat at (nine hours of travelling can certainly work up an appetite). Pizzeria Rustica served us enormous pizzas and also some pizza-burgers, which are basically burgers with pizza dough for bread. According to my friends, pizza-burgers are something that should be brought to our hometown.  As it was relatively late by the time we had finished, we only had time to walk to the lake itself before getting to bed. On arrival, we had been asked by the hostel whether we were there more for the night life or nature. Considering the fact that we were deprived of at least 20 hours sleep, we went for nature, rejecting ...
Post a Comment
Read more

'Dr Faustus'- Duke of York's Theatre, London

If you're one of the literary buffs who has heard of Christopher Marlowe's 'Dr. Faustus', you'd probably be surprised to hear of a theatre production of the play involving full-frontal nudity, rape and a whole lot of bodily fluid. Recently, I watched The Jamie Lloyd Theatre Company's adaptation of the play and, yes, that is exactly what it entailed.  'Dr. Faustus' follows the aspirations of academic Dr. John Faustus, who, in exchange for 24 years of power, wealth and honour, agrees to sign his soul away to the Devil. Lloyd's modern rewrite of the play intelligently mixed old with new; instead of presenting heavy criticism of the Catholic Church, the play focuses on the dark side of celebrity. The titular role of Faustus was performed by none other than Kit Harington (aka Jon Snow of 'Game of Thrones'), who, you'll be pleased to know, was very much alive at the Duke of York's Theatre, London. For those who know the plot of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bucket List: Revisited.

The year 2016 is at an end. It has undoubtedly been a turbulent 12 months of highs and lows, and has thrown at us many, many (mainly political) surprises. On a personal level, 2016 featured the best seven weeks of my life over summer as well as possibly the lowest few weeks too across the year- but let’s not dwell on them right now. In July 2015, I wrote a Bucket List and, last year, I feel I was preeeetty successful in completing some of them.   Okay, so I may not have completed no.1 on the list (I am indeed studying French but perfecting it maaaay take some time) but I certainly did eat a stack of at least four pancakes- at an iHop in Orlando, Florida. Raspberry and white chocolate- I remember it well. Did it live up to my Bucket List expectations? Oh, yes. I also managed to tick off the slightly more extreme third thing on my Bucket List- a trip to New York. What a city. I definitely intend to return one day in the future. One day I was in New York City, the next I was a...
Post a Comment
Read more