Blithe Spirit

The setting was good without too much fussiness but enough to suggest the period and offer sufficient variety. The actors moved well around the furniture with generally realistic moves. There was rarely a move for the sake of moving and everyone seemed at home. The entrance at the centre back did become somewhat congested at times and more thought should have been given to the placement of the central table so that there was more space for everyone. The French Windows were impressive and the swathe of the curtains appropriate and well lit when the ghosts entered. Of course, the room came into its own in the final scene with circling pictures, stamping radiograms and books and vases throwing themselves off shelves and furniture. This was co-ordinated and operated with artistic flare causing much hilarity.

There was some nice business with Edith running to the front door and people moving to other parts of the house. Unfortunately an electrical problem in Scene One did become distracting as staff clattered about resolving the issue. The New Hall is not designed to cope with this, and a little more care and less panic would have alleviated the distraction. As it was it confirmed that the Condomine’s house was haunted. The ghosts simply had to materialize. 

The need to keep the pace up was cleverly dealt with, with appropriately choreographed scene changes performed effortlessly by the actors and moving seamlessly into the next scene. This was impressively created and worked, and it was difficult to tell what was improvised and where the play continued. This was a very welcome piece of direction and always in the style of the piece. This was so much better than closing the curtains or having black gang rushing about in the semi-dark.

On the whole the dialogue was delivered with the necessary clipped tones and at a good pace.  In this style of script there is no room for Pinteresque pausing.  Conversation continued very naturally hardly faltering. Charles maintained the witty repartee at a fairly quick pace and so the scenes tripped along. 

The characters so well defined by Coward were crisply played with no sign of self-indulgence. Everyone seemed at ease in their wardrobe and there was very little fidgeting with clothes or hair which can often mar a performance of this play.  Outfits had been well chosen complementing the set and maintaining the ambience of the whole. Accessories had been carefully thought out and the ghosts’ outfits were grey but interesting. Ruth’s dress reproduced in grey worked very well.

Characterisations had been well thought through. There isn’t a great deal of scope for exciting new interpretations, but there was no sign of complacency. When a character became the centre of a scene, the actor drove the dialogue with intent and so there were sufficient contrasts within scenes for the dialogue not to become stale.

It is a little thing, but no one of this breeding would pick up the teapot or cups for that matter except by the handle. If it takes a little longer – so be it.  It is vital to maintaining the Condomine’s world that little things like this are well rehearsed and timed. Every now and then there was an emphasis on a particular move to ensure the audience spotted it. This wasn’t necessary in such a well constructed portrayal. In order to maintain the naturalness of the movement it is necessary to do everything possible to avoid such contrivances.

Each role was beautifully re-created with care and loving attention. This ensured that there were no Margaret Rutherfords or Rex Harrisons strolling the set, but genuinely formed characters. Both girls made wonderful ghosts with appropriate movement and a whisp to the voice. It came over as a happy team effort with everyone playing their piece in the jigsaw to help each other. This was complemented by well organised and controlled technical support and warm and friendly Front-of-House staff: an impressive team effort.

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