Angel Street (Gaslight) @ Rockwall Community Playhouse
—Jan Farrington
By rights, Rockwall Community Playhouse’s production of the 1938 play Gaslight (some past versions have used the title Angel Street) ought to be a creepy, creaky, boring bit of old melodrama. That it’s more (and better) than that is a credit to director Felicia Sykes and her team, who’ve dug into this oddly disturbing play and shown us the psychological layers that still make us shiver…and root for a rescue of its put-upon young wife.
Gaslight, the story of an abused Victorian wife (it’s set in late 1800s London), a stinker of a husband, and his attempts to drive her crazy (for various reasons involving money, jewels, and dastardly deeds of the past), is well-known from the 1944 film with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman. The term “gaslighting,” of course, has entered the language as a way of describing some sort of trickery used to make a person feel doubtful, disturbed, frightened, even insane.
In recent years, perhaps because of its unusually accurate portrait of domestic abuse, there have been a startling number of Gaslight revivals, both in the U.S. and in Great Britain. The play was written by British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton (who also wrote the equally creepy Rope). Hamilton, who in many ways led a troubled life, was known to put some of his own “baggage” into his stories—among them, an ongoing interest in finding “unsuitable” women to share his bed.
This is community theatre, but a cast mixing trained and amateur (in a good way!) actors does a more-than-decent job of inhabiting their characters: Bella Manningham (Diana Siotos), the fragile, timid young wife; husband Jack (Preston Wells), a bully who undermines and belittles Bella from the opening moments of the play; concerned servant Elizabeth (an anxious but warm Lisa Beegle) and slitty-eyed Nancy (Victoria Sawyer Wells), who behaves as nastily toward her mistress as she can get away with—and flirts openly with Jack, who seems happy to flirt right back, in front of his wife.
Last to appear is a surprise visitor, energetic and cheerful police Inspector Rough (James Brown), who wastes no time letting Bella know her uneasy feelings about her husband are spot-on. Rough is tracking Jack for the murder of a wealthy old woman who lived in the rooms above their home. (Only murders in the building, right?) Jack, Rough believes, is pretending to go “out” every night, then spending hours above Bella’s head, looking for jewels he couldn’t find at the time of the killing. When he turns on the upper-floor gaslights, those in Bella’s sitting room flicker and shrink—making the footsteps she hears (or does she?) feel terrifying. Bella seems to trust the inspector immediately—she’s attracted, it seems, to men who will manage her life.
The nicely detailed Victorian set design by LaDawn Cantu creates plenty of atmosphere, and Macie Thorson’s costumes add to the illusion. (The men’s suits feel quite authentic.) The bright gold satin of Bella’s gown stands out from the muted colors onstage—and catches the light at the end, as she leans over Jack to leave some final words in his ear.
One has to wonder if Patrick Hamilton would be pleased or otherwise, that “gaslighting” has become a much-used term for the many ways men try to downplay their ill-treatment of women. Rockwall’s choice of this interesting older play says a lot about this small company’s ambitions.
WHEN: Through April 2
WHERE: Rockwall Community Playhouse, 609 E. Rusk, Rockwall
WEB: rockwallcommunityplayhouse.org
