Blithe Spirit

In its 90th year Murton Theatre group presented Noel Cowards masterpiece “Blithe Spirit” (their first ever play) which was well received by a delighted and appreciative audience. This play was written by Noel Coward in 1941. Gordon Richardson, in his first Director’s role certainly brought together a very talented cast whose expertise and talent shone through, with excellent delivery of dialogue and timing to deliver a slick and professional performance. The set was to a high standard and very authentic to the period, and made the most of the relatively small stage. The use of excellent props added to the overall performance with lots of attention to detail with fine martinis and cucumber sandwiches. At the centre of it all stood Charles Condomine played by Martyn Banks with a very commanding presence from the moment he appeared on stage, with excellent characterisation and making a personable leading man. This was a very polished performance by Martyn with excellent interactions with the rest of the cast, and good timing. Ruth Condomine was played by Irene Smith who also gave a splendid performance as the second wife of Charles.  Irene gave a convincing performance with dialogue  both powerful and realistic. She had excellent stage presence, and was able to portray her character using all the emotions required for this role, and was dressed expertly throughout.

Dr Bradman was played by Martin O’Leary who gave a good performance in this substantial role as the archetypal family doctor.  He had good delivery of lines and again some excellent interaction with the rest of the cast, especially at the séance scene, which brought out the well-performed humour.  Mrs Bradman was played by Anne Malpass who gave a sterling performance.  Anne has excellent stage presence and brought out the humour of the character again with good interaction with the other cast members, especially at the dinner party. There was a strong performance from Helen Land, as Elvira, with excellent acting and performing with great style and the mischievousness required for the part.  Helen looked good for being dead, and her costume looked very authentic. She sounded good and inhabited the character to perfection with smouldering looks and graceful movements. Well done Helen, it was so good to see you in a leading role which showed off your acting skills.  Jeanne Brown gave a sterling and convincing performance as the colourful Madame Arcati I loved the authentic arty way-out costumes and eccentricity which created the somewhat dotty medium associated with the character. Jeanne brought out all the character in her dialogue, moves and moods, and it was exactly what I was expecting of the eccentric cucumber sandwich-eating medium.  I particularly liked the séance scenes which were delightful to watch and well executed, especially the ending with pictures falling off the wall.  Well done Jeanne.  It was lovely to see you back on stage after a fourteen year absence to pursue directing. Finally, Christine Ward, as Edith the maid, had excellent comic timing and a seemingly effortless ability to be funny and touching simultaneously. I loved the memorable breathtaking rushes on and off stage which provided many a laugh. Well done Christine.

Praise must also go to the production team, back stage support and a special mention must go to the front of house team for their kindness and hospitality shown, much appreciated. This was a most entertaining production that raised many laughs I enjoyed the play and the performances tremendously as did the audience. Well done to all those involved and congratulations to everyone at Murton Theatre Group. Well Done

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