THEATRE REVIEW: Gaslight | Newcastle Theatre Company

Well I loved this charming little piece of theatre. A well rounded, highly entertaining Victorian era murder mystery. A great cast, beautiful set design (as usual for NTC) & perfect costumes, styling & aesthetic characterisations across the whole cast carried the audience through a rich experience of the era – this is just good enjoyable theatre. It is fun, though not because it is funny per se (though it definitely is when it wants to be) but just because it is so charmingly entertaining. It is mysterious, saucy, mean, dark, haunting, humorous, thought provoking in parts – but when all is said & done it’s simply a well told, well played & engaging story to sit back & enjoy. I left the theatre just wanting to say, “Thank you, thank you for entertaining us so”. Paul Russell’s Jack Manningham is a classic “mutton chopped & mustachio-ed” pompous gentleman of the era & seeing Russell play this role so convincingly it is hard to actually imagine the actor himself fitting into the modern day - a notion to some degree confirmed when in the curtain call the audience appeared to have carried over their emotional responses to the character & seemed unable to distinguish the two! Jan Hunt as Bella Manningham effortlessly balances the polarities of the imposed “simple creature” female archetype of the day & a deeply profound woman teetering on the verge of either a complete mental breakdown or of some deep, dramatic discovery. Her character seems even quite surreal at times .. A tough role played with engaging ease. Tony Gluck’s Inspector Rough is a bold & sweeping character moving from somewhat of a “white knight” type to a quite comical - almost Clouseau-esque – character at times. His delivery, & even his movements across the stage, demonstrate a man driven – an element which really carries with strength a lot of the undercurrents of the play & the story. Strong performances from Fiona Mundie as the humble but intelligent housekeeper, Elizabeth, & Jarrah Webster as the flirtatious & saucily played young maid Nancy round out the rich tapestry of this light-hearted but thrilling little romp. Forgive me for my repetition but again; this is a great, charming little piece of theatre. It is engaging, well produced, very enjoyable & highly entertaining – all things that good theatre should be. I loved it. Get along & see it!