„You watched the Gaslight Mrs. Manningham, and I watched the man.“
Gaslight is a Victorian thriller dealing with murder, madness and abuse, definitely breathtaking and fascinating. Bella Manningham could lead an average life in her huge house in Victorian London – if she was not losing her mind. Well, in fact she was driven to be mad by her husband Jack. It is not only the obvious affair between Jack and their servant Nancy. Furthermore, afraid of ending up like her mother, who died in a madhouse, she frantically tries to explain the disappearance of familiar objects, the mysterious footsteps in the unused upper floor or the ghostly flickering of living room gaslights. But in vain.
One evening after Jack left for town as always, an unexpected guest arrives. It is Detective Rough, a wise and caring man, trying to persuade Bella so that she trusts in him. During the evening he explains to her that he accuses Jack to be the murderer of an old lady, who was killed in just that room, they stand in. And now it is her turn to help resolving the case he was working on for twenty years. On top of this, Jack is here, right above their heads, desperately looking for the Jewels he desired ever since. First Bella is not willing to believe the Detectives story, but connecting his accuse with her observations, it slightly turns out to be the truth. Even the flickering Gaslight, which really scared her was caused by her husband, lighting up overhead. In the end justice finds in one hour, what he could not find within twenty years.
“But how can a mad woman help her husband to escape?”
All in all we really enjoyed Tim Hardy’s interpretation of the film “Gaslight” from 1944. The awesome and extensive set, the incomparable accent of the actors and the originally British feeling formed a memorable framework for the actual acting. Although the whole case was resolved right before the break, so that there was nothing thrilling left for the second half and the end appeared to be drawn out, all of us were very impressed and amazed.