Noël Coward’s play Blithe Spirit, written at the height of the war in 1941, is being revived at the MADC Playhouse in Santa Venera.

Charles, played by Stefan Cachia Zammit with great panache, is a successful novelist. He organises a séance, led by a local medium to get background for his next novel on the occult. Unfortunately, the ghost of his maddening first wife, Elvira (Cathy Lawlor), is conjured up. Only he can see and hear her.

Cathy Lawlor as the dead wife.

Ruth, his second wife, played by Coryse Borg, gets to exercise her sharp wit on her husband a lot and is, as expected, extremely upset. Charles appears to be talking to himself a lot and sometimes is very rude to her.

The friends who come for the séance are the very suave and sceptical Dr Bradman, played by John Marinelli, and his dizzy and gullible wife played by Francesca Briffa.

Tina Rizzo is Edith, a young country girl in her first job as housemaid and who is extremely anxious to do well.

Author Coward had a direct, bitter experience as his own London flat had been bombed during the war. He had a passion for London and Londoners, and his understanding of the needs of the man in the street led him to write this highly improbable farce.

Distressed by bombing and deprivation, Londoners needed a morale booster badly, and Coward stepped in with a comic play to cheer them up.

They flocked in their thousands to see Blithe Spirit. Coward is said to have written the play in less than a week.

The MADC Playhouse in Santa Venera is ideal for this play as it is an intimate space and the audience can feel the action.

There are also many special effects which can only be done in this type of setting.

• Blithe Spirit is being staged on October 16-18 and 23-25 at 7.30pm. Tickets may be obtained by e-mail: bookings@madc.com.mt, online from www.madc.com.mt or by calling 7777 6232.