A review of Blithe Spirit
Moragh Gee
I was immensely impressed by the whole production which was excellent in so many ways.
It is always said that if you get the casting right, you’re almost there. Well, Sheena Craig, the director, did. All the characters were well delineated, and their relationships to and with each other crystal clear and, moreover, they all looked right.
And so to the beginning. As we sat down and looked at the set we were indeed taken into the Condomines’ drawing room. The decorated walls, the fireplace, the furniture, the French window, Charles’ and Ruth’s personal belongings all fitted.
The music transported us immediately to the earlier era, so even as we sat waiting in our pew, there was a keen anticipation of what was to come.
As to the characters, where to begin? We felt the Condomines, Charles and Ruth, were genuinely at home, confidently and comfortably in command of the situation. We could see a couple in a well-established relationship, at ease with one another, and we were well led into their forthcoming dinner.
Their maid, Edith, was an absolutely splendid character, not only in how she spoke but her vivid and lightning changes of movement depicting either her attention to their commands, or her state of anxiety, or both. A terrific performance.
Then Dr and Mrs Bradman, very different characters, the doctor steady, capable and observant, and a good listener, and Mrs Bradman conventionally charming but, on occasion, unintentionally putting her foot in it. Then o then, Madame Arcati, utterly eccentric in appearance, manner and movement, very much her own woman and completely off the wall. Lastly Elvira, wafting in or drifting about, in her affected, self-centred, deceptively charming manner; immensely watchable.
Part of the success of the production lay in the minutest attention to detail. I’ve mentioned the set and the music and now come to the beautiful clothes; what lovely fabrics, well cut, fitting and hanging well on each woman, and the men’s costumes were excellent as well. Then, add to that the superb shoes and hair dos! Such minute attention to detail and period was really impressive.
That brings us to our three Condomines, Charles, Ruth and Elvira. Their different relationships were vivid, and the changing relationship between Ruth and Charles held our attention throughout, Charles vainly trying to pretend he was keeping a grip on things completely beyond his control or understanding. Ruth is a conventional woman and so less noticeable, but here we had a Ruth who was utterly convincing, not just when speaking but when listening. Her reactions were spontaneous, subtle and truthful, and entirely natural: altogether a quite outstanding performance.
Reflecting later on the whole play my son said Ruth was the only one of the Condomines he warmed to. He thought the play could only have been written by a man! Next morning looking it up online and adding to ‘Blithe Spirit’, the word misogyny (!), he found quite a bit.
He disliked both Charles and Elvira, and felt Ruth was the only one for whom he had any sympathy. This illustrates what a terrific production it was, in that with such a well-known period comedy, we were still discussing it next day.
My only adverse criticism was, to my astonishment, for Coward! The second half felt long. There were moments the play might have ended earlier. As it is still in copyright there is nothing that can be done about that yet. However one day, some judicious cutting will make the second half even better.
Many congratulations to Sheena Craig who directed it, and to everyone, including the whole backstage team. The timing of everything was immaculate, the lighting and sound, the pictures falling off the walls, the characters’ freeze frame between scenes – a nice directorial flourish! – everything changed deftly in front of our eyes, all coming together in a most accomplished way.
High comedy is the most difficult thing to bring off – and they did it.
