Noël Coward, 1972
Photograph by Allan Warren
Rutland Arts Theatre Society Presents Blithe Spirit a comedy by Noël Coward
Victoria Hall Oakham 26th, 27th, 29th June 2013
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" ("Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! / Bird thou never wert").
The play concerns the socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book.
The scheme backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his annoying and temperamental first wife, Elvira, after the séance. Elvira makes continual attempts to disrupt Charles's marriage to his second wife, Ruth, who cannot see or hear the ghost.
The play was first seen in the West End of London in 1941, creating a new long-run record for non-musical British plays of 1,997 performances. It also did well on Broadway later that year, running for 657 performances.
Coward adapted the play for film in 1945, starring Rex Harrison, and directed a musical adaptation, High Spirits, on Broadway in 1964. It was also adapted for television in the 1950s and 1960s and for radio.
The play enjoyed several West End and Broadway revivals in the 1970s and 1980s and was revived again in London in 2004 and 2011. It returned to Broadway in February 2009.
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Archive article dated: 30 Jan 1933.
"Noel Coward is conceded to be the cleverest of living English dramatists. Some go further, advancing the premise that in the last hundred years only Disraeli, Wilde and Shaw have started from nothing and conquered England as Mr. Coward has conquered." Read
Tickets
£8 in advance or £10 on the door
Call 01572 723247 for ticketing enquiries
Tickets can also be purchased from Music & More, High Street, Oakham
