Gaslight: A 1938 play that has never been more relevant

Posted on 9 May, 2024

There has perhaps never been a better time to revive iconic play Gaslight than now.

As the national conversation is dominated by violence against women, it seems fitting that the next blockbuster play to grace the stage of Canberra Theatre Centre is none other than the play that coined the term ‘gaslighting’ – the act of manipulating someone to doubt their own perception of reality.

Centred around happily married couple Bella and Jack, Gaslight starts to go south when strange things start to happen in their marital mansion. Lights dim and strange noises are heard. Is fragile Bella losing her mind, or is something more sinister afoot?

While Gaslight’s subject matter is thrilling and at times heavy, the production – coming to Canberra from 15-19 May after rave-reviewed runs in Brisbane and Melbourne – has been received with open arms by audiences. Even lead actress Geraldine Hakewill (Wakefield, Miss Fishers Modern Murder Mysteries) has been pleasantly surprised.

To make sure she could leave the heavy role of Bella in the dressing room after shows, Geraldine planned to swap out her wedding ring with Bella’s each night so she could ‘take off’ the role and give herself some mental space.

Instead, Geraldine has found audiences gasping as the curtains rise on the Edwardian era set, applauding as Bella enters the stage for the first time and even sometimes forgetting to swap the rings back at the end of the night, much to her real-life husband’s amusement.

“It’s been one of the most extraordinary shows I’ve ever done in terms of relationship to the audience,” she says. “I haven’t really experienced anything like it before. It’s so energising.”

So energising that even the fact that Bella has more lines than Hamlet and is on stage for almost every scene (not to mention that Geraldine has a 15-month-old who is travelling with the show along with her husband) hasn’t slowed Geraldine down.

“I’d expect to feel a lot more tired than I’ve been,” she muses. “It’s such a pleasure to play Bella and it’s such a pleasure to share this story with an audience…it feels like the sort of show that people really need at the moment – there’s an element of escapism to it but it’s also something that’s very recognisable.”

“I think it’s the play itself – it has thriller elements, it has melodrama elements, it’s a really great relationship drama and while it’s quite serious in what of what we’re exploring, it’s very entertaining.”

Geraldine credits the skill of director Lee Lewis and the revised script by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson for giving the 1938 story a modern touch. Without spoiling the plot, let’s just say that this version gives Bella a serious dose of agency which Geraldine says she loves – as does the audience.

“Performing the show with everybody is a joy and the audience are too because they are so on my side. They’re not only rooting for me, they’re worried about me, and it’s almost like they’re with me, experiencing it through me and having a kind of cathartic reaction with me…I can’t wait to bring it to Canberra.”