What would you do if you believed that you were slowly but surely going insane? Nothing seems to be where you last thought you had left it. You hear strange noises in the house, the lights seem to get dimmer or brighter on their own, and you apparently have no control over your actions. Imagine then, the plight of poor Mrs. Manningham, the lady of Manningham House, in Michael Muthu’s play Gaslight , who thinks that she is going out of her mind.
Gaslight , originally written by Patrick Hamilton and set in the 1880s, explores the travails of Mrs. Manningham. The play revolves around Mr. Manningham grappling with his wife’s seeming insanity. None of her actions make any sense to her husband who is fast losing patience with her. If one day it is a missing picture, on another day it is misplaced bills and stolen trinkets that drive a wedge between the couple. Determined to punish her, Mr. Manningham slowly begins restricting his wife’s privileges. Things come to a head when Mr. Manningham threatens to put her in an institution, leaving a sobbing Mrs. Manningham in the depths of despair. That is when she is paid a visit by a mysterious stranger — Rough, a former detective, investigating a 20-year-old murder. He seems to be just the antidote to Mrs. Manningham’s frayed nerves, and in his affable way, goes about seeking answers to the case he first encountered as a young detective.
Staged on a rainy Saturday evening at the Museum Theatre by The Madras Players in association with The Boardwalkers, the 105-minute play had its fair share of tense moments. At one particularly tense juncture, a rat fell off the girders much to the shock and amusement of the audience. But not once did the actors on stage flinch. Some stellar performances by the cast kept the audience at the edge of their seats. While Sarvesh Sridhar as the conniving Mr. Manningham played his role to the hilt, Shaan Katari Libby as the bumbling and confused Mrs. Manningham was very believable. Deepa Nambiar as the helpful Elizabeth and Smrithi Parameshwar as the saucy maid Nancy did a wonderful job too. It was P.C. Ramakrishna, though, who stole the show as detective Rough. His characteristic booming voice and dialogue delivery were apt for the Victorian play. Directed by Michael Muthu, the play also boasted of some interesting background music and Victorian-inspired architecture on its sets.
