Noël Coward’s classic, supernatural comedy, Blithe Spirit, has materialised on stage at the hands of the MADC.
Written in a whirlwind week in 1941, the play had an impressive original run of 1,997 shows and has inspired numerous adaptations and revivals, including a 1945 film starring Rex Harrison.
Written soon after Coward’s London offices and home were destroyed in the Blitz, you might expect that the play would have picked up more of a solemn war-time air, but that is not case. A dose of escapism from the horrors of war, Blithe Spirit has an amusingly flippant way of dealing with otherwise serious topics, such as death and the afterlife.
While comedy often ages poorly when taken too far out of its context, Coward’s script survives through the years thanks to the effortlessly witty, dry humour for which the playwright is so loved.
Stefan Cachia Zammit’s caddish novelist Charles Condomine is the centre of the play, finding himself in an unlikely, supernatural love triangle. Coryse Borg is proper, poised and demanding as lady of the house Ruth, playing to her sharp-tongued strengths. Their spectral visitor is Elvira, Charles’s dearly departed first wife, played by a radiant, but overly cartoonish, Cathy Lawlor.
As the show’s unhappy protagonist, Cachia Zammit handles the role with charm – even when his true character is revealed to be something less than gentlemanly. He carries the show solidly through a number of scenes.
Polly March plays the slightly dotty medium with enjoyable gusto
However, pacing seemed to be a struggle in some of the longer dialogues. In particular, a second act confrontation between Charles and Elvira felt like it never quite got off the ground, as both the actors seemed to pause and struggle with the mounting tension.
When one thinks of a Noël Coward play, the first thing to come to mind is the sharpness of the dialogue and, unfortunately, there were a number of instances when this production could not keep up that clipped pace.
Instead, there were times when the actors sauntered through their lines at a pace slow enough to stifle both rising pathos and Coward’s spitfire humour. At two and a half hours long, it’s difficult to forgive slow pacing and some of the comedy was unfortunately swallowed whole by the timing.
Easily the most vivid and interesting character in the show, Madame Arcati is without a doubt one of Coward’s classics. Polly March pulls double duty in this play as both director and actor, playing the slightly dotty medium with enjoyable gusto.
Without a doubt, her scenes were the liveliest and most entertaining of the play, but her cast sadly flagged a bit without her onstage presence.
The cast is bolstered by solid performances from John Marinelli and Francesca Briffa, as sceptical dinner guests Dr and Mrs Bradman. In a small, but crucial role, Tina Rizzo showed promising comic timing and great presence as nervous new maid Edith.
Setting the scene and sending us back to 1940s England, I would be remiss if I did not make mention of the fantastic efforts of the backstage crew. Having been a frequent visitor to the MADC in the past 10 years, as it went from Clubrooms back to Playhouse, I don’t think I have ever seen a more striking set in the venue.