About the Play
This classic Victorian thriller was first produced in 1935. Jack Manningham is slowly, deliberately driving his wife, Bella, insane. Help arrives in the form of a former detective, Rough, who believes Manningham is a danger to everyone around him. Rough seeks to prove Manningham’s true identity as Bella herself strives to overcome the suffering inflicted on her. Has Rough arrived in time, or has Jack succeeded in finally driving Bella insane?
Director: Jeff Book
Jeff is an American actor, living in Germany for more than 25 years. Jeff has worked professionally over the last several years in film, TV, commercials and modeling projects and completed stage and film actor training in London at Rose Bruford College, Drama Studio London, Actor’s Studio at Pinewood Studios, City Academy London and International School of Screen Acting. After more than 20 years as a business executive, Jeff transitioned from part-time to full-time professional actor status in 2021 and is represented by Crawford Talents in Berlin. He has been performing on stage with FEST since 2007, with leading roles in of Death of A Salesman, Doubt: A Parable, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadway Bound, Our Country’s Good and many more. He also has several credits as a Director with FEST, including such works as Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder, Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Woody Allen’s Old Saybrook and several more.
Assistant Director: Aleksandra Galaganova
Aleksandra joined FEST several months ago and immediately dove deep into the backstage world. After supporting several plays as a make-up artist, Aleksandra joined the directors’ pool as Assistant Director for Old Saybrook. She was also Stage Manager and Props Master for Rabbit Hole, and is back as Assistant Director for Gas Light. Aleksandra has performing experience in high school and continues to have an incredible passion for theater.
Leah Coburn – Bella Manningham
Leah is Irish and has lived in Frankfurt since 2016. Having worked as a lawyer for many years, she took her first steps into the theatre world with the Theatre Language Studio (TLS) in Frankfurt, attending several of their acting and improv workshops, and acting in a three-person play at one of their ‘play-in-a-day’ festivals. She later played the role of Sonia in the ECB Ensemble’s production of “Celebration” by Harold Pinter (directed by Christopher Morahan). Having got to know the lovely FEST family through various workshops, Leah was delighted to be able to join the wonderful cast and crew of this production. She would like to thank Jeff for the opportunity and to apologise to her children for scaring them during her preparation for this role.
Keith Hieronymi-Smith – Jack Manningham
Keith comes from Edinburgh, Scotland and started to mould his acting talent on the streets of the capital leading ghost tours as the character Adam Lyal for the Cadies & Witchery Tours. He moved to Dublin, Ireland in 2000 and whet his appetite for the stage, appearing in several theatre productions, including in Dublin Castle. He has been living with his family and working as a Contract Manager in the Franfurt area since 2011, and is glad to have the opportunity to be in this amazing FEST production, which is his first.
David Jamieson – Inspector Rough
This is David’s third performance for FEST following Pinteresque in 2021 and The Cherry Orchard earlier this year. David has been performing and directing in Germany since 2010, when he was recruited by the Usingen English Actors, who have been bringing English theatre to a small town in the Taunus for the last 17 years. In Frankfurt, he has appeared on stage for TLS Frankfurt, both with a script in The Foreigner, A Grimm Tale and The Underpants, and without a script in the Dangerous Play improvised theatre series. He also appeared in Shakespeare Frankfurt’s 2023 production of Romeo and Juliet.
Bridget Smith – Elizabeth
From Ireland originally, Bridget has been living in Germany for 20 years. She is delighted to be able to “time travel” to the 1880s, in order be a part of this legendary and intriguing play. She had the opportunity to perform on the Kulturhaus stage in the short plays I’ve Learned and Homeland, as part of a FEST-run performance workshop that she attended in 2023.
Xenia Kraft – Nancy
Born in Russia’s Far East, Xenia once dreamed of becoming a clown—imagining a life filled with laughter, mischief, and colorful costumes.Though the circus never called, her passion for performance only grew stronger. After joining acting classes, she landed her first role as Anya in The Cherry Orchard at FEST. Now, she’s thrilled to play Nancy in Gas Light on the same stage and excited to explore more characters and continue growing as an actress. She’s also part of TheaterDepot, always ready for the next challenge, wherever it may take her.
Belinda Bell – Alice Barlowe
Belinda was born in merry Middle-England and lived her adult life in the creative hub of London. She currently resides in Frankfurt. Coming from a fine arts background she spent 3 years as a member of the Gloucestershire based, experimental theatre company, ‘Hand in Glove.’ HiG focused on the philosophy of the American experimental theatre director, Robert Wilson. In London, she has worked backstage for foundation student performances of The Jungle Book and The Tempest. Belinda has always been interested in creative writing and all aspects of theatre; these interests led her to attend various acting and screenwriting workshops. She has recently joined FEST and is thrilled to pursue the mystery of treading the boards. Entry number one on Belinda’s bucket list is to write and direct a play.
Sarnia Jane Schüßler – Alice Barlowe
Born and raised in the UK, Sarnia’s love for acting started with a high school panto: she played Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk (oh yes she did!). She became addicted to treading the boards and has been involved in theatre ever since. Sarnia joined FEST in 2002 and has been on stage in many productions, such as: Dick Whittington, Cinderella, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Whole Shebang, Detainee and The Cherry Orchard. Sarnia also directed The Heiress (2011) and Bedroom Farce (2014) and served on the FEST Committee for a number of years.
In addition to her involvement with FEST, Sarnia has acted in The Vagina Monologues (charity performances), Seasons Greetings (Gallus Theater) and Dinner for Five (WPAC).
The Crew:
Stage Manager
Izzy Krier
Set Design
Isabel Bohlman
Props Master
Philip Carr
Lights and Tech
Martha Reece
Simone Arians
Costumes
Julie Regenbogen
Gulmira Jumayeva
Hair
Cher Chislett
Ella Gogolin
Make Up
Emma Merritt
Ružica Vrbat
Youjin Choi
Kimia Bahrami
Policemen/Stagehands
Terry Fernbach
Philip Carr
Abhinav Taneja
Oğuz Akgeyik
Thomas Dewitz
Stagehands
Youjin Choi
Julie Ng
Carlijne de Vogel
Andrea Coti
With special thanks to our sponsor:
Source For Alpha AG
