Gaslicht

Patrick Hamilton: GASLICHT - a crime thriller

London, 1880. Since Bella and Jack Manningham moved into their new house, Bella has been doubting her own sanity: the gas lamps flicker in the evenings for no apparent reason, objects vanish from the drawing room - and her husband Jack feeds her fears rather than calming them. Could she be suffering from the same mental illness that drove her mother to an asylum?

As Bella's condition threatens to worsen, a stranger appears. He introduces himself as a retired Scotland Yard inspector named William Rough and claims to have spent years hunting a fugitive murderer - the man who beat an old woman to death in the Manninghams' drawing room to steal her jewels. The killer, Rough insists, will return to the scene of the crime. Who is this stranger? Who is the murderer? Who can Bella trust?

Hamilton's play premiered in London in 1938 and was adapted for the screen in 1944 with Ingrid Bergman in the lead role, under the title "Gaslight". The term "gaslighting" - describing a form of psychological manipulation and emotional abuse - traces its origins to this very work. The Altes Schauspielhaus in Stuttgart now presents it for the first time in a production by artistic director Axel Preuß.

Run: 18 September to 24 October 2026

Cast: Felician Hohnloser, Andreas Klaue, Annette Mayer, Hannah Sophie Schad, Lisa Wildmann
Director: Axel Preuß
Set and costumes: Vesna Hiltmann
Stage combat: Stefan Müller-Doriat
Dramaturgy: Susanne Schmitt