Blithe Spirit

As always, the Bradfordian’s produced a beautiful set; a proper, cosy 1940’s sitting room, complete with chaise long, table and chairs, fireplace and French doors, all wonderfully detailed.  The French doors were lit from the outside with the hint of a garden beyond and the hallway could be seen from the sitting room door, which allowed the maid to run back and forth in view of the audience.

Mr. and Mrs. Condomine were superb. Their dialogue flowed freely between them like a genuine 1940’s married couple, as they set the scene and introduced us to their lives together. Their acting and diction were excellent throughout and they captured the era and atmosphere of this Noel Coward classic perfectly.

Elvira Condomine, Charles Condomine’s first wife, was also outstanding. These three leading players were a strong unit who worked well together and gave a very believable and accomplished performance.

Edith provided a lot of the comedy as the clumsy maid dashing around and being gently calmed down by Ruth.  A lovely bubbly personality with bags of character and good comic timing.

Doctor and Mrs. Bradman gave engaging performances as the Condomine’s dinner guests, invited for the seance.

Last, but not least, was the flamboyant and eccentric Madame Arcati, who commanded the stage during her scenes with good humour and gravitas in equal measure.

The costumes were fabulous. Both of the Mrs. Condomine’s had beautiful dresses and Madame Arcati had wonderfully eccentric outfits full of colour and pattern. Everyone else on stage were suitably dressed in the smart clothes of the period, with the maid in uniform. The black cheeks of the former Mrs. Condomine were a little heavy handed, but of little consequence to the production as a whole.

This is quite a lengthy play but the cast moved it along at pace, without missing a word and all with perfect diction so that every word could be heard. This was superbly directed and a very enjoyable production. 

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