Blithe Spirit

A virtually full theatre and a warm welcome greeted me on my arrival to Audley Players production of Blithe Spirit. I knew I was in for a treat and I wasn’t disappointed.

Charles Condomine wants to write a book and so to gather information he, and his wife Ruth, invite medium Madame Arcati to dinner and a séance. However Charles ends up getting more than he bargained for as the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, is inadvertently summoned. Visible only to Charles Elvira starts a series of troublesome events that eventually become life threatening. It is up to the hapless Madame Arcati to exorcise the mischievous spook, and quickly before things get out of hand.

The set was extremely detailed, well thought out and presented. The audience was transported into the heart of a comfortable country house living room just before cocktails were served. The Props had been well chosen and the set dressed impeccably. I did find the scene changes a little too long as very little altered between scenes and maybe a more efficient way of maintaining the flow of the play could have been found.

Costumes were appropriate for the time, place and characters. I particularly liked the flamboyance of Madame Arcati and the effect achieved for the ghostly Elvira and Later Ruth.

I put the rather timid delivery of lines at the start of the play, and the frequent prompts, down to it being opening night as I know first night nerves can be a devil! As the play continued the characters became more confident and assured.

Martyn Kerr handles the central character, Charles, very skilfully. He kept a strong confident character throughout. I might have perhaps liked him to lose his cool a little more when things really started to get out of hand. Jane O’Reilly, as Ruth, started nervously but then gained confidence particularly in the scenes with Elvira, responding with well- timed humour to the exchanges with the unseen ghost. Rachel Hopkins was agreeably petulant as the seductive and irresponsible Elvira. There was a lovely grace and flow about her performanceHeidi Condliffe as Edith, the maid, kept her character throughout and added a nice touch of humour each time she appeared. Dr and Mrs Bradman, played by Phil Quick and Yvonne Johnson, were well played secondary characters adding warmth to the proceedings. Applause must go to Kate Quick playing the preposterous medium Madame Arcati. She was brilliantly over the top, with good strong characterisation. The audience couldn’t help but smile whilst she was on the stage.

Overall the play was well staged and the various ghostly ‘illusions’ were handled well. Well done to all involved, it was a delightful performance.

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