4 September - Gas Light

Firstly, I'm glad you all enjoyed the Alan Ayckbourn in August, even if the ending was a bit unclear.  I've done some Googling and maybe reading the Wikipedia summary will help:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_in_the_Grass#Synopsis  My feeling is that Miriam dies ... it would be justice!  But it is rather open-ended maybe.  I do hope you enjoyed it, I liked that it was a slightly different Ayckbourn!


Also, for those of you who appreciated the fig cake, here's a link!  https://www.mattersofthebelly.com/ottolenghis-fig-almond-cake/

And so to September ...  Gas Light

This classic 1938 thriller (and its film adaptations) gave rise to the term “gaslighting”, meaning a form of psychological abuse in which false information is presented to the victim with the intent of making them doubt their own memory and perception.  It's a theme that is very pertinent today, as we become more aware of psychologically abusive relationships.

The play is set in fog-bound London in 1880, at the upper middle class home of Jack Manningham and his wife Bella. It is late afternoon, a time that Hamilton notes as the time “before the feeble dawn of gaslight and tea.”   Bella is clearly on edge, and the stern reproaches of her overbearing husband make matters worse. What most perturbs Bella is Jack’s unexplained disappearances from the house: he will not tell her where he is going, and this increases her anxiety. 


Characters

Mr. Manningham: Husband

Mrs. Manningham:  Wife

Elizabeth:  Housekeeper

Nancy:  Younger maid

Rough:  Ex-Detective

Because this is a thriller I do not want to give too much away!!  So I'll just put up some pictures!  These are all from the 1944 film starring Ingrid Bergman.