Angel Street, Pentacle Theatre's October production, shines a light on the reality of domestic violence
By Casey Chaffin, The West Side Newspaper
From October 2-24, Pentacle Theatre will put on a showing of Angel Street, the play that originated the term gaslighting.
The play, a thriller, traces the rise and fall of a turbulent relationship between a married couple, Mr. Manningham and his wife Bella. Angel Street’s original title was Gaslight, as part of Mr. Manningham’s abuse of Bella takes the form of psychological manipulation involving actual gas lights. Gaslighting is now a common term used to describe a type of psychological abuse that makes a victim feel out of touch with reality.
Angel Street was written in 1938 and is set in the 1880s, but the themes and the relationship portrayed in the play still feel timely.
“I’m struck by its relevance today, even though it was written so long ago,” said Gregory Jolivette, the play’s director.
While more recently staged productions of Angel Street have used an updated script, Jolivette is staying mostly true to the original source material. But he’s still making deliberate choices to ground the audience in Bella’s reality, as it falls apart and comes back together again.
“I really want the audience to have an immersive experience and want it to be about what the main character, Bella, is feeling and experiencing,” Jolivette said. “I’m trying to get the audience to experience what Bella is going through.”
Because of the play’s themes of experiencing and escaping from domestic violence, Pentacle Theatre is partnering with the Center for Hope and Safety, a Salem nonprofit that supports survivors of domestic violence and provides emergency shelter. A portion of ticket sales from the production’s October 21 show will be donated to the nonprofit.
The executive director for the Center for Hope and Safety, Ashley Carson, remarks on how the depiction of psychological abuse and other forms of domestic violence depicted in the play hew closely to the reality of those dynamics in real life.
“When you have a play that depicts this, it helps people understand the issue more broadly,” Carson said.
Carson noted that the play demonstrates how domestic violence can take forms other than physical violence. She said it’s important for people to understand that relationships can be unhealthy and unsafe, even in situations that don’t involve physical abuse. Domestic violence encompasses many forms of abuse, she said, including manipulating someone psychologically, financially, or through child custody.
Carson noted that while some people see psychological or emotional abuse as less severe or not really domestic violence, the impact of non-physical abuse can be just as profoundly impactful to the survivor.
“We need to call it what it is – it is domestic violence,” Carson said. “Survivors talk about the devastating impact of psychological abuse – it’s the hardest to overcome for many survivors, it’s so deep in their psyche.”
Both Carson and Jolivette emphasized how important it is to believe survivors as they recover from unhealthy and violent relationships. Jolivette said that’s one of the things that he feels is well-depicted in the play, when a detective who believes Bella’s story helps her escape her abusive husband.
He hopes the play will be well-received by audiences.
“It’s so well-written and people will be eager to come back for act three,” Jolivette said.
The play has a 2 hour and 15 minute runtime, with two intermissions. The play will run October 2-24, with a special fundraiser show to benefit Center for Hope and Safety on October 21. Tickets can be purchased at pentacletheatre.org.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, there is help available. In Marion County and West Salem, Center for Hope and Safety runs a 24/7 hotline for people to reach out to for support; call (503) 399-7722. In Polk County, Sable House runs a 24/7 hotline that can provide support and referrals to help; call (503) 623-4033.