The MADC have chosen Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit as their season opener. And when I was asked to direct it, I was delighted. When I was also asked to play the eccentric medium, Madame Arcati, a role made famous by the great Margaret Rutherford, I was even more delighted.
This improbable farce as he called it was written in 1941 during the worst times of the war. And Coward had accurately judged that people needed to laugh and forget their troubles – they came in their thousands to see it and it has stayed a firm favourite ever since.
The play is utterly escapist. The situation is farcical. The ghost of the first wife of Charles Condomine, a successful novelist, is conjured up at a séance held by the eccentric medium, Madame Arcati. Only he can see and hear Elvira, which leads to his second wife, Ruth, first believing he is drunk and then believing he is trying to drive her mad.
The play is situation driven and based on the characters and how they each react to the situation they find themselves in. Such work never dates. Coward’s meticulous and precise prose is a joy to play as each of the cast is discovering for themselves.
Farce, or high comedy, I believe, should always be played truthfully. The comedy lies in the situation and the way the character reacts, truthfully, to it. We are not attempting period style playing, or the strangled vowels with which we are familiar from all those old black and white films... we each have found our own voice as actors for the characters we inhabit.
Stefan Cachia Zammit plays Charles, with a lot of fancy footwork as he tries to make his two wives get along. Coryse Borg has developed an extremely acidic tone, which is perfect for Ruth. Cathy Lawlor with her lovely Irish lilt makes Elvira entirely enchanting.
Francesca Briffa and John Marinelli play Dr and Mrs Bradman, neighbours and friends who have been invited to the séance. One a sceptic and one a believer, they have lots to disagree about.
Tina Rizzo as Edith is the new young maid. What must she think she has walked into, poor girl? But there’s more to her than meets the eye.
The play is set in the sitting room of the Condomine’s house in Kent and the MADC Playhouse at the Clubrooms is an ideal venue. The intimacy of the space allows the audience to be very much part of the action. And exactly because of this, the effects the play requires work well. But I am not supposed to say anything about the effects, you have to wait and see!
There will be lots of Coward songs played before, during and after along with some popular World War II numbers... there will be a lot of nostalgia washing around the bar too.
Blithe Spirit runs on Friday, Saturday and next Sunday and October 23, 24 and 25. Tickets are available by sending an e-mail to bookings@madc.com.mt, calling on 7777 6232 or online.
www.madc.com.mt