Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton Review

A man manipulates his wife into thinking his lies are true and that she’s going crazy, like her late mother. But where does he go every evening and who’s making that noise in the flat above - or is that another figment of the wife’s supposed mania? Then a retired cop appears one evening when the husband is away with a tall tale of murder most foul…

Patrick Hamilton was a pretty damn good playwright! I really enjoyed Rope, which Hitchcock later adapted into a movie, and similarly enjoyed Gaslight, which is where the modern term “gaslighting” originates.

It’s an intriguing and original concept - of a person lying to destroy another person’s mind - and the story draws you in effortlessly before switching things up once the retired copper is introduced to keep upping the dramatic stakes.

Before electricity became widespread, gas provided the lighting of London homes (or else candles - the subtitle of the play is “A Victorian thriller in three acts” when more rudimentary forms of lighting was prevalent) and the play incorporates that in a clever way. When other lights go on in the apartment building, the light in the main room where the action takes place dims, which also serves to indicate when the evil husband is returning from his evening escapades. I only read the play but I imagine it’s an atmospheric stage effect.

The explanation for why the husband is gaslighting his wife is where the story breaks down for me - without going into specifics, why even involve her by having her live in that place? He could easily abandon her elsewhere so she wouldn’t get in the way, thus negating any concern of his to go to such an elaborate length to make her seem like she’s going nutso. That and the searching of the flat above them, which has apparently been going on for six months - how long does it take to search a London flat? What were they back then, 500 rooms big?! It should’ve been done in a week or less. These two points stuck out to me to make the play feel very contrived.

Other than that, the story was undeniably exciting and builds steadily throughout so that it’s fun to see the drama play out with its taut, tense pacing - it definitely lives up to that “thriller” subtitle. If you’re in the mood for a suspenseful crime thriller play, Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight delivers.