Blithe Spirit
by Noel Coward
Old Fire Station
22-26 May 2001

Noel Coward wrote Blithe Spirit in 1941 just after his house had been the recipient of a direct hit from a Luftwaffe bomb. His rather macabre response was to write a comedy based on a medium who brings back the wrong people from the dead. The play deals with the subject of death head on, for as one ghost tells us, "I always believed in cutting my losses, that's why I died." The black humour of Blithe Spirit amused wartime Britain, and was immediately popular. The plot begins with Charles Condomine, a middle aged novelist, inviting Madame Arcati, an eccentric medium, to his house so he can research his mystery novel while she performs a séance. Inadvertently Charles's first wife Elvira is called back from the dead. Charles is accused of being an astral bigamist, and second wife Ruth threatens to call the Archbishop of Canterbury as a last resort to get rid of Elvira. The plot has more twists than a roller coaster and a hilarious three-way repartee as only Charles can see the sparkling spectre of Elvira, elegantly played by Mary Elvin.

Séances, cucumber sandwiches and martinis that are as "dry as a bone" are served up in the Condomine's lounge alongside the superb one-liners. With life at an all time low, Ruth asks if her husband wants anything from town. Charles dryly admits, "there's a great deal I want, but I doubt you can find it in Hythe." This St Edmund Hall Productions cast meets the challenge of delivering Noel Coward's biting wit admirably. The 1930s are perfectly captured on stage with period music, authentic costumes and a well-crafted set.

I have to admit, when Madame Arcati stares into her crystal ball and says, "Damn the thing, it really gives me the pip" she could have been speaking about the seats in the Fire Station: the play is just over two and a half hours long, and the pace of the second half could perhaps be speeded up. However Jo Langham's Madame Arcati, the medium who "had her first ectoplasmic manifestation at the age of 5 and a half" guarantees we all leave in high (if not blithe) spirits. This is a welcome revival of one of the most under-rated British playwrights of the last century.

Lita Doolan
22-05-01