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Gaslight (Dietz)

A psychological thriller adapted by Steven Dietz from Patrick Hamilton’s hit 1939 play (which inspired the 1944 film starring Ingrid Bergman), Gaslight thrillingly delves into the horrors of psychological abuse, where the truth is fickle for characters and audience alike. With undertones of Sherlock Holmes and film noir, it’s a story replete with mystery, double-crosses and the injustice of emotional abuse.

More information

Description

  • Full Length Play
  • Drama
  • 120 minutes

  • Time Period: Victorian (British and American), 19th Century
  • Target Audience: Adult
  • Set Requirements: Interior Set
  • Cautions: Alcohol, Mild Adult Themes

  • Performance Group:
  • Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, Professional Theatre
In this turn-of-the-century Victorian thriller, strange things start to happen to the newlyweds Bella and Jack as their seemingly perfect marriage devolves into something sinister. Why is the attic door locked? Whose footsteps wander the halls at night? And is that gaslight flickering… or not?

Bella’s reality is twisted, forcing her to question both the truth and her husband’s intentions in this haunting thriller based on the acclaimed play and classic film that gave rise to 2022’s word of the year: “gaslight.”
REVIEWS:

"A captivating psychological thriller… this is a show that will engage your brain."

 League of Cincinnati Theatres

"Streamlined… compelling entertainment… A portrait of courage in the face of evil… Gaslight is a psychological thriller, but there are frequent moments of levity… There could hardly be a more fitting time for a play entitled Gaslight, given that we are now living in a world that asks us to bend reality to suit our own cultural and political beliefs rather than to believe what we see and hear with our own eyes and ears."

 Theater Mirror

"Mr. Dietz’s interpretation of the story is an excellent one. He has managed to make it more concise without losing the impact of the story itself… While the original text has been around since the 1930s, Gaslight remains timeless for two very different reasons: in many ways, its message was very much ahead of its time and, unfortunately, psychological abuse still exists. Fortunately, Mr. Dietz’s script has enough light in this dark tale to pull us out of the shadows rather adeptly as we are reminded there is hope in the most bleak of hours."

 Katrina Reynolds, League of Cincinnati Theatres

"A captivating psychological thriller… Transforming the 1938 play by Patrick Hamilton (and the acclaimed 1940 movie of the same name), playwright Steven Dietz has crafted a revealing look at power dynamics of a marriage and how far someone would go for personal gain… this is a show that will engage your brain."

 Liz Eichler, League of Cincinnati Theatres

Premiere Production: Steven Dietz’s adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight premiered in a co-production between Cincinnati Shakespeare Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio, where it opened on September 8, 2023, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Massachusetts, where it opened on October 18, 2023. Directed by Courtney Sale, the production featured Kristin Yancy, Tom Coiner, Jim Hopkins, Candice Handy and Karen MacDonald.

Characters

  • Casting: 2M, 3F, 2M or F

  • MRS. MANNINGHAM (BELLA) – 35, attractive, attentive, unsettled
    MR. MANNINGHAM (JACK) – 45, charming, handsome, secretive
    ELIZABETH – 50s, the senior maid, stout, direct, loyal
    NANCY – 19, the young maid, pretty, sassy, bold
    SERGEANT ROUGH – 60s, British, buoyant, clever, relentless
    Two POLICE OFFICERS

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Gaslight (Dietz) Script This is optional. Order Now

    In this turn-of-the-century Victorian thriller, strange things start to happen to the newlyweds Bella and Jack as their seemingly perfect marriage devolves into something sinister. Why is the attic door locked? Whose footsteps wander the halls at night? And is that gaslight flickering… or not?

    Bella’s reality is twisted, forcing her to question both the truth and her husband’s intentions in this haunting thriller based on the acclaimed play and classic film that gave rise to 2022’s word of the year: “gaslight.”

    		$24.95

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