Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton, Playground Theatre, 24 October 2019

Press night at the Playground Theatre, a new venue in Notting Hill (Latimer Road) at the invitation of First Floor Presents. I saw and reviewed its production Lemons Lemons Lemons at Barons Court a few months ago…

…yet First Floor invited me again. Thank you. I’m glad.

I very much enjoyed seeing this production of Gaslight. It is very well acted on the whole and an interesting take on the piece.

Here is a link to the Playground Theatre resource on this production.

Also another link, to an interesting Guardian piece about Gaslight, which talks about this production and another, very different style of production currently at Watford. It also has a clip from George Cukor’s 1944 Hollywood version of Gaslight.

Possibly a little unfair, then, for me to watch a clip of Ingrid Bergman as Bella and then, a few minutes later, watch Jemima Murphy play the part live. Jemima’s own fault for sending me that link, I suppose.

I had only ever seen Gaslight in its movie forms before – there was also a 1940 British film version directed by Thorold Dickinson (Alfred Hitchcock didn’t make a Gaslight, although many a pundit thinks he did) – but Gaslight is probably more suited as a theatre work than as a film. In any case, Jemima Murphy in particular did well as Bella in the “intimate but not claustrophobic” setting of a 100-or-so seater theatre.

ALL PHOTOS BY WILLIAM WATERWORTH – Jordan Wallace as Jack and Jemima Murphy as Bella

Patrick Hamilton is, for me, a frustrating writer. His novels are intriguing, well-written and have become far better known latterly than during his lifetime, when they mostly flopped. He made his dosh from more crowd-pleasing, melodramatic fare for the theatre; not least Rope and Gaslight.

Was it really 10 years ago that we saw Rope at the Almeida…

…yes, but I only Ogblogged it a couple of years ago.

But despite my low expectations from Patrick Hamilton as a playwright, First Floor’s production of Gaslight strangely worked for me.

I’m not sure if the script has been cut; I’m guessing that it has and quite rightly so, if the play was originally as long as most 1930s numb-bum-fests. But in any case the directing and acting focused well on the psychological elements of the play, leaving the melodrama and weak crime thriller plot mercifully in the background.

It is, after all, the psychological elements of this play that give it enduring relevance. Gaslighting has become a verb in psychological parlance, increasingly used to describe the several forms of domestic, mental abuse depicted in the piece and sadly all too common in our society.

Just imagine if the term Ogblogging were to become a verb? At least that would be positive rather than negative activity. I don’t think anyone has ever felt trolled by an Ogblog reference.

But I digress. Gaslight.

Rough justice? Jemima Murphy as Bella with Joe McArdle as Rough

Fine supporting work especially from Joe McArdle as Rough, Rebecca Ashley as Elizabeth and Grace Howard as Nancy. In truth Jordan Wallace seemed under-powered for his role as Jack in the first act; I suspect the young actor was very nervous at the start of press night. The slow start in the first act is not helped by the script, but it is quite a short act (there are four) and the piece warms up quite quickly. Jordan Wallace came into his own in the final act, during which his bullying became more sinister and…

***SPOILER ALERT***

…Jack’s comeuppance worked very well. The final act was far and away the highlight for me, with all of the performers well warmed up and neatly directed.

I’d also like to put in a word for the venue, The Playground Theatre, which apparently has been used as studio space for developmental work for several decades, but has only recently been converted for use as a fringe theatre venue and very cosy-looking cafe. I briefly met the artistic directors, Peter Tate and Anthony Biggs, who made me feel very welcome and spoke passionately about their project.

But returning to this production of Gaslight at the Playground Theatre, I was largely impressed and certainly entertained. I commend it – running until 10 November.

Comments on Ogblog pieces are always welcome - please write something below if you wish.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.