Editing Gas Light

{{Short description|1938 British thriller play by Patrick Hamilton}}
{{Other uses|Gaslight (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox play
| name       = Gas Light<br />{{small|A Victorian Thriller in Three Acts}}
| image      = Gas-Light-FE.jpg
| image_size =
| caption    = First edition 1939
| writer     = [[Patrick Hamilton (writer)|Patrick Hamilton]]
| characters = {{plainlist|
* Mr Manningham
* Mr Rough
* Mrs Manningham
* Elizabeth
* Nancy
}}
| setting    = On Angel Street, in the Pimlico district of London, 1880
| premiere   = {{Start date|1938|12|05|df=y}}
| place      = [[Richmond Theatre (London)|Richmond Theatre]], [[Richmond, London]]
| orig_lang  = [[English language|English]]
| subject    =
| genre      = Thriller
}}

'''''Gas Light'''''  is a 1938 thriller play, set in [[1880s]] [[London]], written by the British novelist and playwright [[Patrick Hamilton (writer)|Patrick Hamilton]].<ref name="Times">{{cite news |title=Crazy, He Calls Me (and Terrified, I Agree) |last=Bellafante |first=Ginia |author-link=Ginia Bellafante |date=24 May 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/theater/reviews/24gasl.html |access-date=May 24, 2007 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605091448/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/theater/reviews/24gasl.html |archive-date=2015-06-05 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hamilton's play is a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his wife insane in order to steal from her.<ref name="Times"/>

''Gas Light'' was written during a dark period in Hamilton's life.<ref name="Times"/> Six years prior to the play Hamilton was hit by a drunk driver and dragged through the streets of London, leaving him with a limp, a paralysed arm, and a disfigured face.<ref name="Frezza">{{cite web |last1=Frezza |first1=Daniel |title=About the Playwright: Gaslight |url=https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthrc/00367/hrc-00367.html |publisher=Southern Utah University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112142739/https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthrc/00367/hrc-00367.html|archive-date=12 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="Ransom">{{cite web |title=An Inventory of His Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Cente |url=https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthrc/00367/hrc-00367.html |publisher=The University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas Libraries |access-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112142739/https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthrc/00367/hrc-00367.html|archive-date=12 January 2021}}</ref> Two years later, Hamilton's mother took her own life.<ref name="Frezza"/>

Premiering at the [[Richmond Theatre (London)|Richmond Theatre]] in London on 5 December 1938 before transferring to the [[Apollo Theatre]] in the [[West End theatre|West End]] on 1 January, the play closed after six months and 141 performances,<ref name="Wearing">{{cite book |last=Wearing |first=J. P. |date=2014 |title=The London Stage 1930–1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2mYAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA730 |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=740 |isbn=9780810893047 }}</ref> but it has endured through an impressive list of incarnations<ref name="Times"/> most notably '''''Five Chelsea Lane''''' (1941 American play{{snd}}renamed for Los Angeles production), '''''Angel Street''''' (1941 American play{{snd}}renamed again when Los Angeles production transferred to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]), and ''[[Gaslight (1958 film)|Gaslight]]'' (1958 Australian television play). ''Angel Street'' was a hit in its Broadway premiere, and it remains one of the [[List of the longest-running Broadway shows|longest-running]] non-musicals in Broadway history, with 1,295 total performances.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/angel-street-1145 |title=''Angel Street'' |website=IBDB.com |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]] }}</ref><ref name="philadelphiaweekly.com">[https://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/3737/a-e--stage]{{dead link|date=October 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} philadelphiaweekly.com</ref>

The play was adapted to the big screen as two films, both entitled ''Gaslight''—a [[Gaslight (1940 film)|1940 British film]], and a [[Gaslight (1944 film)|1944 American film]] directed by George Cukor, also known as ''The Murder in Thornton Square'' in the UK. Both films are considered classics in their respective countries of origin, and are generally  equally critically acclaimed. The 1944 American version received seven nominations at the [[17th Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], and won two, [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] (for [[Ingrid Bergman]]) and [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Production Design]]. In 2019, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Tartaglione|first=Nancy|title=National Film Registry Adds 'Purple Rain', 'Clerks', 'Gaslight' & More; 'Boys Don't Cry' One Of Record 7 Pics From Female Helmers|url=https://deadline.com/2019/12/national-film-registry-2019-record-female-directors-boys-dont-cry-purple-rain-clerks-gaslight-platoon-full-list-1202806279/|magazine=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=December 11, 2019|access-date=December 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=2020-10-02|publisher=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Women Rule 2019 National Film Registry|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-19-116/women-rule-2019-national-film-registry/2019-12-11/|access-date=2020-10-02|publisher=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. }}</ref>

==Synopsis==
The play is set in fog-bound London in 1880, at the [[upper middle class]] home of Jack Manningham and his wife Bella. It is late afternoon, a time that Hamilton notes as the time "before the feeble dawn of [[gaslight]] and tea."

Bella is clearly on edge, and the stern reproaches of her overbearing husband (who flirts with the servants in front of his wife) make matters worse. What most perturbs Bella is Jack's unexplained disappearances from the house: he will not tell her where he is going, and this increases her anxiety. It becomes clear that Jack is intent on convincing Bella that she is going insane, even to the point of assuring her she is imagining things.

The appearance of a police detective called Rough leads Bella to realise that Jack is responsible for her torment. Rough explains that the apartment above was once occupied by one Alice Barlow, a wealthy woman who was murdered for her jewels. The murderer was never found.

Jack goes to the flat each night to search for the jewels, and lighting the apartment's gas lights causes the lights to dim in the rest of the building. His footsteps in the supposedly empty apartment persuade Bella that she is "hearing things". Rough convinces Bella to assist him in exposing Jack as the murderer, which she does, but not before she takes revenge on Jack by pretending to help him escape. At the last minute she reminds him that, having gone insane, she is not accountable for her actions. The play closes with Jack being led away by the police.

==Productions==
===London===

''Gas Light'' premiered on 5 December 1938 at the [[Richmond Theatre (London)|Richmond Theatre]] in [[Richmond, London]]. It transferred to the [[Apollo Theatre]] on 1 January 1939 and to the [[Savoy Theatre]] on 22 May 1939. The cast featured [[Dennis Arundell]] (Mr. Manningham), [[Milton Rosmer]] (Mr. Rough), [[Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies]] (Mrs. Manningham), Beatrice Rowe (Elizabeth) and [[Elizabeth Inglis]] (Nancy). The production closed 10 June 1939 after a total of 141 performances.<ref name="Wearing"/>

===Broadway===
{{multiple image
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| image1    =Vincent Price 1942-11-11.jpg
| alt1      =
| caption1  = [[Vincent Price]] in the Broadway production of ''Angel Street''
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| image2    =Angel-Street-Evelyn.jpg
| alt2      =
| caption2  = [[Judith Evelyn]] in the Broadway production of ''Angel Street''
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| image3    =Angel-Street-Carroll.jpg
| alt3      =
| caption3  = [[Leo G. Carroll]] in the Broadway production of ''Angel Street''
}}
In the spring of 1941 [[Vincent Price]] and his wife, actress [[Edith Barrett]], saw ''Gas Light'' performed in Los Angeles as a [[Two-hander|three-hander]] titled ''Five Chelsea Lane''. They were impressed by the play and set about securing the rights for a Broadway production of their own. By fall, they had found a producer to underwrite the project, but Barrett abruptly withdrew to remain in Hollywood and work in films. In November 1941 Price returned to work on the New York stage. [[Judith Evelyn]], the Canadian actress who played the role of Mrs. Manningham in Los Angeles, joined the Broadway production. The name of the play changed to ''Angel Street''.<ref name="Price">{{cite book |last=Price |first=Victoria |date=1999 |title=Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780312242732/page/109 |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780312242732/page/109 109–111] |isbn=0-312-24273-5 |url-access=registration }}</ref>

''Angel Street'' premiered on Broadway at the [[John Golden Theatre]] on 5 December 1941, produced and directed by [[Shepard Traube]] (1907–1983).<ref name="nytimes-shepard-traube-76">{{cite web |last1=Fraser |first1=C. Gerald |title=SHEPARD TRAUBE, 76, IS DEAD; STAGE PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/25/obituaries/shepard-traube-76-is-dead-stage-producer-and-director.html |website=The New York Times |date=25 July 1983}}</ref> The cast featured [[Leo G. Carroll]] (Rough), Florence Edney (Elizabeth), Elizabeth Eustis (Nancy), [[Judith Evelyn]] (Mrs. Manningham) and [[Vincent Price]] (Mr. Manningham).<ref name="IBDB"/><ref>[http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/8490/Angel-Street " 'Angel Street' Listing"] playbillvault.com, accessed 20 June 2013</ref> Price left the play after a year, when his working relationship with Evelyn deteriorated into what she later described as  "violent dislike".<ref name="Price"/> In December 1942 [[John Emery (actor)|John Emery]] assumed the role of Mr. Manningham.<ref name="IBDB">{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/angel-street-1145 |title=Angel Street |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]] |access-date=2018-08-06 }}</ref>

In a long profile headlined “The Triumph of Traube,“ published on 14 March 1943, ''[[The New York Times]]'' described some of the challenges faced by the production, including the untimely opening date, two days before [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]]: “On Dec. 5 the play opened, on Dec. 6 the rave reviews had sent a long line of pilgrims to the theatre box office, on Dec. 7 the play was forgotten under the impact of the Japanese attack. ''Angel Street'' wabbled momentarily then picked up its stride, which has hardly slackened since.”<ref>{{Cite news|title=THE TRIUMPH OF TRAUBE; An Interview With the Director of 'The Patriots' and 'Angel Street' THE TRIUMPH OF TRAUBE| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1943/03/14/85089845.html?pageNumber=147|access-date=2020-07-10|language=en}}</ref> The play transferred to the [[Bijou Theatre (Manhattan, 1917)|Bijou Theatre]] on 2 October 1944 and closed on 30 December 1944 after 1,295 performances.<ref name="IBDB" />

===On tour===
On 19 December 1941 ''The New York Times'' announced that Traube had cancelled a trip to the West Coast in order to form a touring company for ''Angel Street''. The tour was to begin in [[Baltimore]] in February, with stops including [[Washington, D.C.]]; [[Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]; and [[Chicago]], Illinois.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Angel Street' to Make Tour| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/12/29/105414730.html?pageNumber=20|access-date=2020-07-10|language=en}}</ref>

On Sunday, 15 March 1942, the touring company of ''Angel Street'' opened in Chicago to rave reviews. ''The New York Times'' reported an observation by Chicago critic [https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.POLLAK Robert Pollak] that "Not since ''[[Hellzapoppin (musical)|Hellzapoppin]]'' had the crowd out front participated so heartily".<ref>{{Cite news|title='Angel Street' in Chicago| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1942/03/20/85523319.html?pageNumber=25|access-date=2020-07-10|language=en}}</ref><ref>The New York Times blurb credits Pollak with writing for ''The Daily Times'', i.e., ''[[Chicago Sun-Times|The Chicago Sun Times]]''.</ref>

===Revivals===
''Angel Street'' was added to the repertory of [[American Negro Theater|The American Negro Players]] in 1947.<ref>{{Cite news|title=PLAY AIDS CANCER FUND; American Negro Actors Seen in Hamilton's 'Angel Street'| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1947/10/15/87557867.html?pageNumber=34|access-date=2020-07-10|language=en}}</ref> The play ran at [[New York City Center]] from 22 January 1948 to 1 February 1948 for 14 performances. Directed by [[Richard Barr]], the cast featured [[José Ferrer]] (Mr. Manningham), [[Uta Hagen]] (Mrs. Manningham), [[Phyllis Hill]] (Nancy), Nan McFarland (Elizabeth), Ralph Roberts (Policeman), Victor Thorley (Policeman) and [[Richard Whorf]] (Rough).<ref>[http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/13166/Angel-Street " 'Angel Street', 1948"] playbillvault.com, accessed 20 June 2013</ref> On 19 August 1952 ''The New York Times'' announced that a new off-Broadway group, Hamilton-Bruder Productions (a partnership of Patrick Hamilton and Janet Bruders), was opening with a revival of ''Angel Street.''<ref>{{Cite news|title=New Unit offers 'Angel Street'| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1952/08/19/84345588.html?pageNumber=20|access-date=2020-07-10|language=en}}</ref> The play was revived on Broadway at the [[Lyceum Theatre (Broadway)|Lyceum Theatre]], opening on 26 December 1975 and closing on 8 February 1976 after 52 performances and 4 previews. Also directed by Shepard Traube, the cast featured [[Michael Allinson]] (Mr. Manningham), [[Dina Merrill]] (Mrs. Manningham), [[Christine Andreas]] (Nancy), [[Bette Henritze]] (Elizabeth) and Robert E. Thompson (Rough).<ref>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3779 "''Angel Street'', 1975"] ibdb.com, accessed 20 June 2013</ref><ref>[http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/7128/Angel-Street " 'Angel Street' Listing, 1975"] playbillvault.com, accessed 20 June 2013</ref>

Dulaang UP produced the play's Philippine premiere in February 2005 with an English version and a Filipino translation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://fieldfindings.blogspot.com/2005/02/angel-street.html |title=Angel Street |work=Bringing In the Outdoors |format=blog post |access-date=15 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115140021/http://fieldfindings.blogspot.com/2005/02/angel-street.html |archive-date=15 November 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2019}} The play was produced at [[The Old Vic]], London in June 2007 under the title of ''Gaslight''. Directed by [[Peter Gill (playwright)|Peter Gill]], the cast featured [[Andrew Woodall]] as Mr. Manningham, [[Rosamund Pike]] as Mrs. Manningham and [[Kenneth Cranham]] as Rough.<ref>Billington, Michael. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2007/jun/15/theatre1 "Theatre. 'Gaslight{{'"}}] ''The Guardian'', 14 June 2007</ref> The [[Irish Repertory Theatre]] produced the play [[Off-Broadway]] (as ''Gaslight'') running from 17 May 2007 to 8 July 2007. The production was directed by Charlotte Moore and the cast featured [[David Staller]] (Mr. Manningham), Laura Odeh (Mrs. Manningham), [[Laoisa Sexton]] (Nancy), Patricia O'Connell (Elizabeth), April Ann Klein (Police Officer) and [[Brian Murray (actor)|Brian Murray]] (Rough). Murray was nominated for a [[Lucille Lortel Awards|Lucille Lortel Award]] as Outstanding Featured Actor. Staller was nominated for the [[Drama League Award|Drama League's]] Distinguished Performance Award, and the production was nominated for the League's Distinguished Revival of a Play.<ref>[http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=4981 "'Angel Street', 2007"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019233709/http://www.lortel.org//lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=4981 |date=19 October 2007}} Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed 20 June 2013</ref><ref>Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/108115-Gaslight-the-Wartime-Hit-Once-Called-Angel-Street-Opens-May-17 " 'Gaslight', the Wartime Hit Once Called 'Angel Street', Opens May 17"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617033257/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/108115-Gaslight-the-Wartime-Hit-Once-Called-Angel-Street-Opens-May-17 |date=17 June 2011 }} playbill.com, 17 May 2007</ref>

In 2014 the Sandyford Little Theatre Company produced ''Gaslight: a Radio Play for Stage'',{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} an onstage [[Radio drama|radio play]] with seven actors playing 24 roles. In 2015 Myriad Theatre & Film produced ''Gaslight'' at [[Ingatestone Hall]] in Essex.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} In October 2016 the [[Lantern Theatre]] in Sheffield, England produced ''Gaslight''.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} In 2019 [[Perth Theatre]] staged a production of "Gaslight" as part of their Winter/Spring season. In 2022 the [[Shaw Festival]], the second-largest repertory theatre company in North America, staged a production of ''Gaslight''. On 9 September 2022 the version by [[Jô Soares]], one of the greatest Brazilian theater directors, premiered in [[São Paulo]], Brazil. The director did not attend the premiere, as he died on 5 August 2022. Starring Giovani Tozi and Erica Montanheiro, "Gaslight - A Toxic Relationship", features a 14-metre spider web on the set, and with doses of humor, the production is still running, as one of the greatest theatrical successes in the country. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://oglobo.globo.com/cultura/teatro/noticia/2022/08/ultimo-trabalho-de-jo-soares-tem-estreia-prevista-para-setembro-em-sao-paulo.ghtml | title=Último trabalho de Jô Soares tem estreia prevista para setembro em São Paulo | date=5 August 2022}}</ref>

== Reception ==
''Angel Street'' was a hit in its Broadway premiere, and it remains one of the [[List of the longest-running Broadway shows|longest-running]] non-musicals in Broadway history, with 1,295 total performances.<ref name="philadelphiaweekly.com"/>

It remains a perennial favourite with both [[Repertory theatre|repertory]] and amateur theatre companies.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

''[[The New York Times]]'' critic [[Brooks Atkinson]] opens his 6 December 1941 review with this observation: “Although Patrick Hamilton writes his thrillers within a small compass, he writes them with infinite craft and dexterity. ''Angel Street'', which sent a chill up the spine of the Golden Theatre last evening, comes off the top part of the theatre's top shelf.” Atkinson praises Straube for matching “Hamilton’s skill in a tingling performance that fills the theater with an ominous and terrifying illusion” and commends all the actors, observing that Leo G. Carroll had his best role in years.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Patrick Hamilton's 'Angel Street' Is the New Mystery Drama at the Golden Theatre| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/12/06/104311413.html?pageNumber=15|access-date=2020-07-10|language=en}}</ref>

In his review of the 1948 City Center production, [[Louis Kronenberger]] wrote: "(It) remains one of the better thrillers&nbsp;... let's call it one of the best. All the same, though it holds up nicely for three acts, it seems to me outstandingly good for only one."<ref name="city">Kronenberger, Louis. [http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2018/New%20York%20NY%20PM%20%20Daily/New%20York%20NY%20PM%20Daily%201948/New%20York%20NY%20PM%20Daily%201948%20-%200597.pdf "Victorian Villainy at the City Center"] fultonhistory.com, 25 January 1948</ref>

Reviewing Traube's 1975 Broadway revival, [[Clive Barnes]] asked:  “Whatever happened to the good, old‐fashioned melodrama? It probably drifted over to television and died. Just about 35 years ago...Patrick Hamilton's English thriller, ''Angel Street'', opened on Broadway with resounding success. It was directed and produced by Shepard Traube. Last night, at the Lyceum Theater, Mr. Traube attempted an encore. It was not called for...  The trouble with this play is not the trouble with this particular play—it is the trouble with this play as a particular. The theater cannot afford the luxury anymore of wilting heroines, villains making out as if they were Vincent Price (35 years ago it was Vincent Price!) or detectives detecting with the solidity of a basset hound... Nothing is quite clever enough in ''Angel Street'', and the atmosphere is so rarefied that the play is artistically in dire need of oxygen.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Barnes|first=Clive|date=1975-12-27|title=The Stage: 'Angel Street'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/27/archives/the-stage-angel-street-hamiltons-melodrama-revived-at-lyceum.html|access-date=2020-07-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

On 24 May 2007, in her review of the Irish Repertory Theatre revival, ''The New York Times''{{'}} [[Ginia Bellafante]] observed that ''Gaslight'' "established the blueprint for a kind of domestic-peril thriller... Every time an actress portrays the sort of wife who discovers that the greatest threat to her mental and physical safety is the man sitting in her breakfast nook, Mr. Hamilton’s estate ought to receive some type of remuneration....[[David Staller]] plays this undesirable husband as a man whose lust exempts nothing. Every time he appears onstage, you think: keep this person away from my babysitter and Rolex. Mr. Staller's rogue posture modulates his character's cruelty, leavening the play's potentially stifling mood. Mr. Hamilton believed our most dangerous enemies were always in the room with us&nbsp;..., and his work can feel claustrophobic.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bellafante |first=Ginia |date=2007-05-24 |title=Crazy, He Calls Me (and Terrified, I Agree) |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/theater/reviews/24gasl.html |access-date=2022-09-15 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Ms. Moore is aware of this, providing the proper ventilation to clear much of the Victorian must. Brian Murray, playing the detective who uncovers Manningham's plan, is her greatest asset in this regard. He appears onstage with the red cheeks of a Santa Claus, an ageing imp who hides out in nooks and corners, showing a benevolent sarcasm that teases Bella out of her dimwitted complacency".<ref>Bellafante, Ginia. [http://theater.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/theater/reviews/24gasl.html "Theater Review. 'Gaslight{{'"}}] ''The New York Times'', 24 May 2007</ref>

==Adaptations==
===Film===
* The 1940 British film ''[[Gaslight (1940 film)|Gaslight]]'', directed by [[Thorold Dickinson]].
* The 1944 American [[Gaslight (1944 film)|film of the same name]], directed by [[George Cukor]].<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/166/gaslight " 'Gaslight' Listing"] tcm.com, accessed 20 June 2013</ref> It was released in Britain as ''The Murder in Thornton Square'' in order to avoid confusion with the earlier film.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Murder in Thornton Square|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/murder-thornton-square|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308161242/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/murder-thornton-square|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 March 2014|access-date=2020-07-10|website=www.bbfc.co.uk}}</ref>

===Television===
* The cast of the original London production recreated their stage roles for a 1939 television presentation directed by Lanham Titchener and performed live on [[BBC Television]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7fca2a37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122192905/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7fca2a37 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 November 2018 |title=Gaslight (1939) |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=2018-08-09 }}</ref>
* On 20 January 1946 [[NBC]] broadcast the complete play.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title=TELEVISION: 'ANGEL STREET'; Woe Is Hollywood| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/01/27/91606081.html?pageNumber=133|access-date=2020-07-10|language=en}}</ref> The following Sunday, a long piece by ''New York Times'' critic [[Jack Gould]] examined the production and its implications for the future of television.<ref name=":0" /> 
* A [[Gas Light (1958 TV play)|version was produced for Australian television in 1958]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3374728/|title=Gaslight|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>
* Polish television aired a live stage play on 28 September 1961, under the Polish title ''Gasnący płomień''. This was a part of its ongoing series of televised stage plays under the name ''Cobra Theater'' (Kobra – Teatr Sensacji). It is the oldest episode of the ''Cobra Theatre'' series that is known to have survived in its entirety on tape.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php|title=FilmPolski.pl|website=FilmPolski}}</ref>

===Radio===

The story was dramatised as a half-hour radio play on the 3 February 1947 broadcast of ''[[The Screen Guild Theater]]'', starring [[Charles Boyer]] and [[Susan Hayward]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.audio-classics.com/lthescreenguildtheater.html |work=Audio Classics Archive |title=Radio Broadcast Log Of: The Screen Guild Theater |access-date=13 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917183507/http://audio-classics.com/lthescreenguildtheater.html |archive-date=17 September 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> A 1946 one-hour radio production on ''[[Lux Radio Theatre]]'' featured Charles Boyer and [[Ingrid Bergman]], stars of the 1944 film adaptation.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} A 2019 [[podcast]] adaptation starred [[Chloë Grace Moretz]], though it was set in the modern day, and the plot was significantly modernised. It was sponsored by [[Talkspace]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.qcodemedia.com/gaslight|title=Gaslight|website=QCODE|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-10}}</ref>

=== Stage ===
In 2022, Canada's [[Shaw Festival]] premiered a feminist adaptation of the play penned by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson. The production, directed by Kelli Fox, starred Julie Lumsden as Bella and André Morin as Jack.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fricker |first=Karen |date=2022-05-09 |title=Tweaked 'Gaslight' at Shaw Festival is skilled and suspenseful |work=[[Toronto Star]] |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/review/2022/05/29/tweaked-gaslight-at-shaw-festival-is-skilled-and-suspenseful.html |access-date=2022-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Jesse |date=2022-08-04 |title=Blame Canada (or at Least Ontario) for a Wealth of Smart Revivals |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/04/theater/stratford-festival-shaw-festival-canada.html |access-date=2022-09-01 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Nestruck |first=J. Kelly |date=2022-05-23 |title=Review: The Shaw Festival's Gaslight rewrite is a gas - too bad copyright extension is going to spoil the fun |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/reviews/article-the-shaw-festivals-gaslight-rewrite-is-a-gas-too-bad-copyright/ |access-date=2022-09-01}}</ref>

[[Steven Dietz]] has also done an adaptation of the novel.

== Denominalisation of the play's title ==

In 1961, twenty-three years after the [[stageplay]] was written, writers began [[Verbification|denominalising]] the film's title and using it as a verb, "gaslighting".<ref name="Yagoda">{{cite web|url=http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2017/01/12/how-old-is-gaslight/|title=How Old Is 'Gaslighting'?|last=Yagoda|first=Ben|author-link=Ben Yagoda|date=2017-01-12|website=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]]|language=en-US|access-date=2017-06-02}}</ref> [[Gaslighting]], in this context, is a colloquialism that loosely means to manipulate a person or a group of people in a way similar to the way the [[protagonist]] in the play (Bella) was manipulated.<ref name="NBC">{{cite web |last1=DiGiulio |first1=Sarah |title=happening to you? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/what-gaslighting-how-do-you-know-if-it-s-happening-ncna890866 |website=nbcnews.com |date=13 July 2018 |publisher=NBC News.com |access-date=13 July 2018}}</ref>

The term "gaslighting" does not appear in any of the stageplays or screenplays and is inspired by the film's title "Gaslight".<ref name="Yagoda"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}



{{Gas Light}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1938 plays]]
[[Category:Plays by Patrick Hamilton]]
[[Category:Works about mental health]]
[[Category:British plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:Detective, mystery and crime plays]]
[[Category:Plays set in London]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1880]]
[[Category:West End plays]]
[[Category:Thriller plays]]
[[Category:Horror plays]]