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Suspense in the Flickering Light

'Gaslight' still thrills at ACT

By John Papageorge

Like the gaslight that hauntingly dims every evening at the Manningham estate, Mrs. Manningham wonders if her sanity is quickly fading to black. Or is someone trying to drive her mad?

In Gaslight, at ACT in San Francisco, director Albert Takazauckas deftly combines suspense and drama with touches of humor to create a taut psychological thriller about Mr. Manningham's devious scheme to drive his wife insane. And although it's an obvious plot point that Mr. Manningham is tormenting his wife, we're not sure why and to what cruel extent he will go. The slow unraveling of this mystery (familiar to moviegoers from the Ingrid Bergman-Charles Boyer version of 1944) is what makes Gaslight a thrilling piece of entertainment.

Takazauckas, a master of using physical comedy and verbal innuendo into his productions, brilliantly brings to life Patrick Hamilton's dexterous play, which takes place in 1890 London. The story's main thrust is that Manningham, who never harms his wife physically, cunningly cuts at her esteem, manipulates her sense of reality and controls her through an almost demonic barrage of psychological warfare.

Actor Charles Lanyer's sideburns, piercing eyes and menacing eyebrows effectively form Mr. Manningham's cruel but diabolically charming face. Lanyer captivates as he feigns kindness one moment as he offers to take his wife to the theater, then quickly retracts the gesture by punishing her for removing a painting from the wall.

Lanyer's Manningham is as charming as he is abusive. When he's not calling his wife "a perfect little silly" or questioning her every word through cutting remarks, such as "You're exhibiting an extraordinary confusion of mind," he flirts with saucy maid Nancy. The sexual dynamics between the two balance the nerve-wracking tension. When Nancy, played with a wanton Cockney accent by Mollie Stickney, is called upon by Mr. Manningham, she asks, "Do you want me, sir?" Lanyer perfectly responds, "Yes [pause], I-want-you-Nancy."

Julie Boyd creates a wide-eyed, confused Mrs. Manningham. Without unnecessary drama, Boyd presents us with a helpless and vulnerable character who fears that the madness that claimed her mother might now be calling for her. Fortunately for Mrs. Manningham, Inspector Rough, played by the venerable actor William Paterson, appears to unravel a mystery that has engulfed her and her estate. Paterson, who speaks from the gut, gives a commanding performance as he carefully tells of a grizzly murder that took place years ago in the home where the Manninghams now live.

Takazauckas' direction moves well but takes time to build on a dramatic moment. In one suspenseful scene, the Inspector darts into a closet--leaving his hat on a table--just as the husband unexpectedly returns home. As members of the audience braced for the husband to discover the hat, the Inspector flies through the door, grabs his hat and zips back into the closet.

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