Words by Ngoc Lan Tran
Director Megan Dansie’s production of Blithe Spirit is comical, entirely charming, and whimsically clever, a triumphant, faithful production that brings Noel Coward’s most popular and most beloved play to life.
In 1940s Britain, Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth invite their closest friends to join them for a séance conducted by local medium Madame Arcati. Expecting to see a scam artist at work, Charles hopes to gather material for his next book until the séance decidedly takes a turn for the weird.
Dansie and the production team transform Union House’s cosy Little Theatre into a quaint, intimate 1940s London flat, aided with superbly well thought out lighting and sound design.
Dansie’s direction is subtle, but her intentions are unmistakable to those who know what to look for in a Coward play. For this production, less is definitely more.
What makes this production shine is the astoundingly talented, creative, and seasoned ensemble of actors. They banter, bicker, and glare with terrifying wit and precision, oozing a toffy British arrogance that, like Coward intended, makes it difficult to care for them (and in a play like this, that is an amazing achievement).
The cast and crew’s dedication to this play is a story of it’s own, having been pushed back by a year and persevering through COVID lockdowns to bring it to the stage. It clearly proved fruitful. Jean Walker is dazzling as the spacy, eccentric Arcati, who shines with a forceful commitment to her spiritual truth and reality.
Brad Martin as Charles Condomine commands the stage with a classic, leading man suave, as his mischiefs turned from playful to plain wicked. Martin is so engaging that even his brows should have their own stage credit for materialising so much of the absurdity which ensues.
Coward conceived Blithe Spirit amid the London Blitz, determined to write a light-hearted comedy about the paranormal during a time when death and sorrow were a constant presence. Dansie’s direction does not lose sight of Coward’s vision, but nor does she ignore the script’s bracing treatment of mortality. She stays true to this original intention, mindful of the turbulent and uncertain present.
Compelling and wholly entertaining, Blithe Spirit is one of the Guild’s best productions yet this year, and an unmissable event of the 2021 season.
Blithe Spirit plays for 6 more performances until August 21. Book your tickets here.
On Dit 