Encore Theatre Inc Presents: Gas Light
By Patrick Harrison
To be Directed and Designed by Kym Davies, Assistant Direction by Melanie Bouette. Presented at the Clayton Community Centre.
Performance Dates – 24th April – 3rd May 2026
SYNOPSIS
The play is set in fog-bound turn of the 20th century London, in the 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 (who flirts with the servants in front of his wife) 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. It becomes clear that Jack is intent on convincing Bella that she is going insane, even to the point of assuring her she is imagining things.
The appearance of a police detective called Rough helps Bella to realise that Jack is responsible for her torment. Rough explains that the apartment above was once occupied by one Alice Barlow, a wealthy woman who was murdered for her jewels. The murderer was never found.
Jack goes to the flat each night to search for the jewels, and lighting the apartment’s gas lights causes the lights to dim in the rest of the building. His footsteps in the supposedly empty apartment persuade Bella that she is “hearing things”. Rough convinces Bella to assist him in exposing Jack as the murderer, which she does, but not before she takes revenge on Jack by pretending to help him escape. At the last minute she reminds him that, having gone insane, she is not accountable for her actions. The play closes with Jack being led away by the police.
In 1961, twenty-three years after the play was written, writers began using the title Gas Light as a verb, “gaslighting”.
In this context ‘Gaslighting’ is a colloquialism that loosely means to manipulate a person or a group of people like the way the protagonist in the play (Bella) is manipulated. It is a term widely used in the current verbiage and demonstrates how relationships within a modern context mirror those of the past with limited or
insubstantial change. This and the use of coercive control within the narrative are very relevant to today’s audience.
Our goal is to present a dark and engaging thriller in the vein of the original play, keeping the time and place as described in the script. Pure gothic horror.
This Production and the Direction within, will focus on pace, mood and menace, underpinned by a focal point on the status of Woman, Wives and Servants in turn of the century London, and what role Men play in their safety and their worth.
Characters
(Ages suggested are not necessarily prescriptive)
Bella Manningham (35-50F) Standard British accent (RP)
Jack Manningham (35-50M) Standard British accent (RP)
Detective Rough (40-70M) Standard British accent, Cockney, or London working class
Nancy (Maid 19-30F) Cockney, Geordie, West Country or London working class accent
Elizabeth (Maid 40-60F) Cockney, Geordie, West Country or London working class accent
Auditions
Auditions will be held in a group environment, to test chemistry and have an open and transparent process. The Audition may run for up to 2 hours. In a safe environment you will get every opportunity to show what you have to offer to this production. Auditions will be capped at 15 participants.
Monday 8th December-from 7pm-9pm
Wednesday 10th December from 7pm-9pm
Fleigner Hall, 39 Highland Avenue, Oakleigh East VIC 3166
Additional Auditions or call backs may be scheduled. TBC
Booking:
https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1497467
Audition Dates:
Monday 8th December-from 7pm-9pm
Wednesday 10th December from 7pm-9pm
For a copy of the script please contact Kym Davies on
0421552040 or by email – kympossi@hotmail.com
Looking forward to seeing you!