Gaslight
“In a New Take on Gaslight, a Heroine Finds Her Own Way” New York Times
“It could certainly take a shot at Broadway” New York Times
“Tweaked Gaslight at Shaw Festival is skilled and suspenseful” Toronto Star
Shaw Festival, 2022
by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson
based on the play Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton
Directed by Kelli Fox
Set & Costume Design: Judith Bowden
Lighting Design: Kimberly Purtell
Sound Design & Composition: Gilles Zolty
Voice & Dialect Coach: Jeffrey Simlett
Stage Management: Amy Jewell, Leigh McClymont
CAST: Julie Lumsden, Julia Course, Kate Hennig, André Morin
photos by David Cooper
“[It’s] a total overhaul, complete with a nifty Act 1 curtain that forces audiences to spill into the lobby, sputtering, ‘What should she do now?'” New York Times
“This much-adapted story has been given a smart and satisfying update by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson.” Toronto Star
“This latest version… is very much of the post-#MeToo era, placing female resilience and solidarity centre stage.” Toronto Star
“Shaw Festival’s Gaslight Rewrite is a Gas” Globe and Mail
“[Wright and Jamieson’s] clever writing and Kelli Fox’s expert production accomplish the complicated task of serving up the expected, enjoyable tropes of the mystery genre — suspense, plot twists, interpersonal intrigue — while giving the material a satisfying contemporary spin.” Globe and Mail
“The most obvious innovation of this new version is that the inspector never calls: Wright and Jamieson have cut the character of [the detective] and made the central action of the play Bella’s journey towards empowerment.” Toronto Star
“The innovation also comes through in the elegance of the writing, which becomes a constant, subtle cut-and-thrust…” Toronto Star
“Wright and Jamieson’s motives in adapting this Hamilton play were not to change the fact that Jack is gaslighting Bella, but to allow Bella more agency in her deprogramming and figuring out what’s going on.” Globe and Mail
“…on the night I attended the audience responded [at the climax by] clapping and cheering like they were suddenly at a Christmas panto.” Toronto Star
“Bring a smart friend to this show to share the fun afterwards of combing through what happened, picking up cues and evidence in retrospect. It’s a very satisfying piece of theatrical reinvention by Wright, Jamieson, and their classy creative and production team.” Toronto Star
“A Victorian thriller melded with a dash of 21st Century female fortitude makes up the fabric of the Shaw Festival’s gripping new production of Gaslight.” Broadway World
“Our two new authors have masterfully developed a novel twist in which the Bella is no damsel in distress, but rather cunning…. The story actually bends beautifully as the audience is rooting for Bella by the end instead of feeling sorry for her supposed sad plight.” Broadway World
I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.