Blithe Spirit is a play written in 1941 by Noel Coward the popular English playwright. Its genre is "comedic farce" and, among other things, deals humorously with the topic of death. This caused a slight scandal when it first debuted at a time when England was dealing with the grim realities of World War 2. But the uproar was short-lived, however, and the play soon broke all prior box office records.
Although death is a primary thread throughout the play, which amounts to a comedic ghost story, Coward's work delves primarily into the complexities of muddled human relationships, especially those of ideal, remembered or simply pragmatic love. The narrative consists of three primary characters: Charles, the socialite and somewhat relationally aloof husband of Ruth, his second wife, and Elvira, Charles' first and more rambunctious younger wife who is deceased.
When Charles and Ruth invite the eccentric medium Madame Arcati over for dinner to entertain their socialite guests to some popular spiritism, things go awry as Charles soon begins seeing and hearing his dead with Elvira. There soon emerges a triad of relationships between the three through which Coward uncovers very real and often tragic, unrealized human sentiments albeit in farcical ways. Elvira is clearly intent on disrupting Charles' current marriage out of the dsire to be loved and not forgotten. Ruth gradually comes to recognize Elvira's presence and must then deal more clearly with her role as second and likely less-loved wife of aloof Charles. And as Charles becomes more acclimated to Elvira's presence and jealous desire for love, he tries increasingly to have his cake and eat it to with both women, an endeavor he finds more difficult than he imagined.
All three characters are clearly operating from the desire for meaningful love, though each is forced to recognize that the time for such an ideal opportunity has passed them by. Ruth must deal with her role as second wife, a status increasing apparent as Elvira intrudes into her marriage. Elvira, thoroughly realizing her ghostly state, wrestles and connives to work her disadvantage into her advantage, while Charles initially finds himself in the very desired state of being earnestly pursued by two women.
Perhaps due to my own gender, I viewed the character and propensities of Charles to be the primary contributor to the play's sad undertone and message. As the tale unfolds it becomes clear that despite the heartfelt desires of either wife, he has simply viewed them as a form of convenient and entertaining conquest, fond memories among myriad others which he sees as evidence of his charm and prowess. Thus while his exterior is refined and polite, the appearance of Elvira brings his internal self to the fore only to erupt in the play's closing scene.
Thus Blithe Spirit is both comedic farce and tragedy, immediately light-hearted yet ultimately contemplative. Definitely a good play.
This was recently performed by the Gift Theatre Ensemble at Chicago's Gift Theatre Company (4802 N Milwaukee Ave) and ran from January 25 - March 11, 2007. The Gift Ensemble did an extraordinary job and effective drew the small theatre's audience into the midst of Coward's strange world.
The play is directed by John Gawlik. Charles is played by Brendan Averett, Elvira by Hillary Clemens, Ruth by Mackenzie Kyle, and the extremely entertaining Madame Arcati by Elizabeth Hipwell.
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