The light is failing, the smog is dense and a famous heroine is losing her mind in a timely revival of a classic thriller, writes Alan Cookman

WHEN Patrick Hamilton's Gaslight opened in London exactly 70 years ago, it packed the Apollo Theatre for six months.

Rave notices and public acclaim made the play the must-see show of late 1939.

Even King George VI and Queen Elizabeth demanded to see the classic Victorian melodrama that had become the talk of the town.

Seventy years after its premiere, the play remains one of the pillars of the amateur repertoire, and Barlaston Proscenium Players are presenting an anniversary production of the thriller.

Karen Oakes will star as Bella, with David Gidman as the evil Jack Banningham, her husband, who is deliberately driving her mad as part of his obsession with finding the jewel belonging to a murdered entertainer.

Although written in the 1930s, Gaslight is set in a large house in London on a foggy afternoon in the latter part of the 19th century.

"Why does the power of the gas lighting in the Manningham household keeping failing?" says director Camilla Shelley Burke.

"Why is the lady of the house so anxious and what is the nature of the business of the visiting stranger?"

Camilla says it was sinister mysteries like this that appealed to our Victorian ancestors. "The Victorians were very fond of their thrillers and ghost stories, especially at Christmas time," she says.

"At Christmas, it was believed that humans were immune to all the forces of evil because of the celebration of the birth of the Christ child.

"This thriller is set in a period when only gas light and the open fire provided light during the long winter evenings, which is why the failing gas light is so significant.

"Patrick Hamilton's play takes us to a bygone era of grace and elegance for the wealthy and grinding poverty for the lower classes. After watching the ordeal of Bella Manningham, audiences will go home feeling truly grateful for the invention of electricity."

The production also features Carol Galpin as Elizabeth, Ellen Woodward as Nancy and Mark Coxon as Rough.

Gaslight is at The Village Hall, Barlaston from December 3 to 6 at 7.30pm. Tel 01782 372517.