A Dark, Twisty Holiday Escape: Deceived at Everyman Theatre

If you’re in the mood for something moodier than mistletoe and more nerve-jangling than carols, Deceived offers the perfect December detour just up the road in Baltimore. Now onstage at Everyman Theatre through January 4, 2026, this smart, suspenseful thriller takes the classic Gaslight story and refocuses it into a gripping, modern-feeling psychological mystery.

Deceived at Everyman Theatre

Based on Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight and adapted by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson, Deceived drops us into early-1900s London, where Bella begins noticing unsettling changes around her home—objects that vanish and reappear, strange sounds, and those infamous gaslights that seem to dim at just the wrong moments. What starts as mild unease tightens into something far more disturbing as Bella’s sense of reality is steadily eroded—and the question becomes not just what’s happening in the house, but who is shaping the truth and why.

One of the most satisfying pleasures here is how fully the production lets you live inside Bella’s uncertainty. The storytelling leans into creeping dread rather than cheap shocks, building tension through careful pacing and the slow accumulation of “small” disruptions that become impossible to ignore. And this adaptation gives Bella more agency at the center of the mystery, turning her from a passive victim of circumstance into someone who has to think, watch, and fight her way to clarity.

Everyman’s design work is a huge part of the experience. The Victorian home feels richly detailed and elegantly lived-in, with a grand sense of scale that makes the shadows feel even more ominous. Lighting and sound are deployed like psychological pressure points—subtle when they need to be, then suddenly immersive when the tension spikes—helping the environment itself feel unreliable, as if the room is in on the conspiracy. Period costumes further sharpen the contrast between surface propriety and the chaos underneath, keeping the world beautifully buttoned-up even as the story unravels.

The cast is a lean quartet—Katie Kleiger (Bella), Zack Powell (Jack), Deborah Hazlett (Elizabeth), and Em Whitworth (Nancy)—and the tight focus pays off. With only four people onstage, every look, pause, and shift in tone matters, and the production uses that intimacy to keep you guessing about motivations, alliances, and what’s really happening behind closed doors.

For DC-area theatergoers looking for a smart, atmospheric thriller to cap the year, this one makes for an easy, worthwhile night (or matinee) out—especially if you like your mysteries stylish, tense, and satisfyingly twisty.