Blithe Spirit

This was the opening night of Wombourne Players’ performance of Blithe Spirit, a comedy set in the 1940’s, that clearly still held appeal for the audience, for few vacant seats in the community hall were left available.

The focus of the play was on the marriage of novelist, Charles Condomine, played by Joe Dudley, as the ghost of his first wife, Elvira (Caroline Rabone), haunts his second marriage to Ruth (Sarah Aldridge). Charles throws a dinner party, after which the main form of entertainment is a séance led by local medium, Madame Arcarti (Karen Evans). But there’s a problem when Elvira’s ghost shows up and she has no intention of leaving. Ruth, the new Mrs Condomine, can’t see her or hear her but she can see her husband falling over himself to complain about Elvira, address Elvira and on request, repeat what he hears Elvira say. Ruth is perceptive and strong minded and attempts to fix the situation and neutralise the ghost of Elvira by engaging further intervention from Madame Arcarti. All three actors played off each other brilliantly, with the power lying squarely with Charles’ wives, and Elvira and Ruth vying for Charles’ affections, their interactions most natural on the stage.

The set, designed by director, Sarah, was adequately furnished and presented an elegant rendition of an upper-class home. The costumes were notably fitting for the characters, with Madame Arcarti’s colourful character reflected by her attire, suitably garish, complete with brogues and checked plus fours. Melanie Lockey’s creation of the hand sewn ghost costumes is worthy of a mention too, for the silver-grey gowns with matching gloves, added much to the quality of the play, enhancing the ethereal spiritual illusion under the lights. Ruth’s nylon wig was a slight distraction only because it did not look natural. From experience of directing this play, I am very aware of the many technical challenges this play can present, but Phil Ward did a magnificent job of bringing Blithe Spirit to life with well executed practical effects and  lighting techniques, including vivid green, to present a spooky vibe when Elvira glided onto the scene. Other ghostly effects worthy of comment include the floating vase of flowers and the slamming of the French doors, believable enough to catch you off guard, even when you know the story.

Joe Dudley played the role of Charles with a charm, adopting a relaxed persona and seemingly at ease in his body language as he grasped with what seemed an impossible, insane situation. He held the stage throughout the evening and his performances with Sarah, as Ruth successfully created an air of domesticity. Sarah delivered a no nonsense approach as Ruth, establishing the right honeyed tone in her voice for the dialogue. Two solid performances from Graeme Lockey, who played the role of Doctor Bradman with conviction, using old school enunciation and Debbie Ward, who had the role of Mrs Bradman. Edith was a haplessly clumsy maid and characterised by Brigitte Brown. She was appreciated by the audience, effectively dashing hither and thither around the Condamine’s home. Caroline Rabone was a wonderful vivid Elvira, the dead first wife of Charles, and acted this part most effectively from the moment she first materialised and ‘purred’ into the room. The repartee between Elvira and Charles was very well done. Karen Evans was a delight to observe in her role as Madame Arcarti. She was well cast as the dotty spirit medium, a dynamic character delivered with energy. The seances made good stage entertainment. She gave a lovely physical performance with her antics, offering firm handshakes with jolly little jigs to great spiritual triumphs.

Overall, this performance throughout the play led to an entertaining experience and the director, Sarah Aldridge and the entire cast and crew did a marvellous job of staging this play with all its demands, providing lots of visual moments too, with a sprinkling of comic timing and staging that prompted some giggles of laughter. Thank you too, for my warm welcome to your production.

 

 

 

 

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