Editing Blithe Spirit (play)

{{short description|Play written by Noël Coward}}
{{italic title|Blithe Spirit}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
[[File:Blithe Spirit.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Margaret Rutherford]] (Madame Arcati), [[Kay Hammond]] (Elvira) and [[Fay Compton]] (Ruth), 1941]]
'''''Blithe Spirit''''' is a comic play by [[Noël Coward]], described by the author as "an improbable farce in three acts".<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 366</ref> The play concerns the socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric [[Mediumship|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 wilful 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 theatre|West End]] in 1941 and ran for 1,997 performances, a new record for a non-musical play in London. It also did well on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] later that year, running for 657 performances. The play was [[Blithe Spirit (1945 film)|adapted for the cinema]] in 1945; a [[Blithe Spirit (2020 film)|second film version]] followed in 2020. Coward directed a [[musical theatre|musical]] adaptation, ''[[High Spirits (musical)|High Spirits]]'', seen on Broadway and in the West End in 1964. Radio and television presentations of the play have been broadcast in Britain and the US from 1944 onwards. It continues to be revived in the West End, on Broadway and elsewhere.
{{TOC limit|3}}

==Background==
The title of the play is taken from [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]]'s poem "[[To a Skylark]]", ("Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! / Bird thou never wert").<ref>Nightingale, Benedict. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F924C3EF6E6CCA3&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Coward's high-flyer lays an egg"], ''The Times'', 19 June 1997, p.  37</ref> For some time before 1941 Coward had been thinking of a comedy about ghosts. His first thoughts centred on an old house in Paris, haunted by spectres from different centuries, with the comedy arising from their conflicting attitudes, but he could not get the plot to work in his mind.<ref name=p89>Payn, p. 89</ref> He knew that in wartime Britain, with death a constant presence, there would be some objection to a comedy about ghosts,<ref>Hoare, p. 321</ref> but his firm view was that as the story would be thoroughly heartless, "you can't sympathise with any of them. If there ''was'' a heart it would be a sad story."<ref name=p89/>

After his London office and flat had been destroyed in the [[The Blitz|Blitz]], Coward took a short holiday with the actress [[Joyce Carey]] at [[Portmeirion]] on the coast of [[Snowdonia]] in Wales. She was writing a play about [[John Keats|Keats]], and he was still thinking about his ghostly light comedy. He later recounted:
{{blockquote|We sat on the beach with our backs against the sea wall and discussed my idea exclusively for several hours. Keats, I regret to say, was not referred to. By lunchtime the title had emerged together with the names of the characters, and a rough, very rough, outline of the plot. At seven-thirty the next morning I sat, with the usual nervous palpitations, at my typewriter. ... I fixed the paper into the machine and started. ''Blithe Spirit''. A Light Comedy in Three Acts.

For six days I worked from eight to one each morning and from two to seven each afternoon. On Friday evening, May ninth, the play was finished and, disdaining archness and false modesty, I will admit that I knew it was witty, I knew it was well constructed, and I also knew that it would be a success.<ref>Coward (1954), p. 211</ref>}}

==Synopsis==
Charles Condomine is a successful novelist. At the start of the play, while dressing for dinner, he and his second wife, Ruth, discuss his first wife, Elvira, who died young, seven years earlier. He comments, "I remember her physical attractiveness, which was tremendous, and her spiritual integrity, which was nil".<ref>Coward (1941), p. 4</ref> Among the Condomines' dinner guests is an eccentric medium, Madame Arcati, whom Charles has invited in the hope of learning about the occult for a story he is writing. He has arranged for her to conduct a séance after dinner. During the séance she plays a recording of [[Irving Berlin]]'s song "[[Always (Irving Berlin song)|Always]]" on the gramophone, inadvertently attracting the ghost of Elvira.<ref>Coward (1941), pp. 17 and 20</ref>

The medium leaves, unaware of what she has done. Only Charles can see or hear Elvira, and Ruth does not believe that Elvira exists, until a floating vase is handed to her out of thin air. The ghostly Elvira makes continued, and increasingly desperate, efforts to disrupt Charles's current marriage. Charles accuses her of being "feckless and irresponsible and morally unstable".<ref>Coward (1941), p. 69</ref> She finally sabotages his car in the hope of killing him so that he will join her in the spirit world, but it is Ruth rather than Charles who drives off and is killed.<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 368−369</ref>

Ruth's ghost immediately comes back for revenge on Elvira, and though Charles cannot at first see Ruth, he can see that Elvira is being chased and tormented, and his house is in uproar. He calls Madame Arcati back to exorcise both the spirits, but instead of banishing them she unintentionally materialises Ruth. With both his dead wives now fully visible, and neither of them in the best of tempers, Charles, together with Madame Arcati, goes through séance after séance and spell after spell to try to exorcise them. It is not until Madame Arcati works out that the housemaid, Edith, is psychic and had unwittingly been the conduit through which Elvira was summoned that she succeeds in dematerialising both ghosts.<ref>Coward (1941), p. 83</ref> Charles is left seemingly in peace, but Madame Arcati, hinting that the ghosts may still be around unseen, warns him that he should go far away as soon as possible. Coward repeats one of his signature theatrical devices at the end of the play, where the central character tiptoes out as the curtain falls – a device that he also used in ''[[Present Laughter]]'', ''[[Private Lives]] ''and ''[[Hay Fever (play)|Hay Fever]]''.<ref>Lahr, p. 71</ref> Charles bids his vanished wives farewell and leaves at once; the unseen ghosts throw things and wreck the room as soon as he has gone.<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 371−372</ref><!-- NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE END OF THE 1945 FILM IN WHICH CHARLES'S CAR CRASHES AS HE LEAVES AND HE JOINS HIS WIVES AS A GHOST-->

==First production==
''Blithe Spirit'' was first produced at the [[Manchester Opera House]] on 16 June 1941, and then premiered in the West End on 2 July. During the long London run − 1,997 performances − it played at three theatres. It opened at the [[Piccadilly Theatre]], transferred to the [[St James's Theatre]] on 23 March 1942 and then to the [[Duchess Theatre]] on 6 October 1942, closing on 9 March 1946.<ref>"Blithe Spirit", ''The Times'', 14 March 1946, p. 5</ref> It was directed by Coward; sets and costumes were designed by [[Gladys Calthrop]].<ref>Gaye, p. 22</ref> The run set a record for non-musical plays in the West End that was not surpassed until September 1957 by ''[[The Mousetrap]]''.

===Original cast===
* Charles Condomine – [[Cecil Parker]]{{refn|Parker was replaced by [[Nicholas Phipps]] from June 1944; [[Alan Webb (actor)|Alan Webb]] from November 1945. Holiday cover by Noël Coward, August 1942; [[Ronald Squire]], January 1943; [[Dennis Price]], August 1943; Nicholas Phipps, November 1943.<ref name=mm367/>|group=n}}
* Ruth – [[Fay Compton]]{{refn|Compton was replaced by [[Irene Browne]] from October 1942; [[Joyce Carey]] from June 1944. Holiday cover by Joyce Carey, November 1943.<ref name=mm367/>|group=n}}
* Elvira – [[Kay Hammond]]{{refn|Hammond was replaced by [[Judy Campbell]] from July 1943; [[Penelope Dudley Ward]] from June 1944. Holiday cover by [[Betty Ann Davies]], December 1943.<ref name=mm367/>|group=n}}
* Madame Arcati – [[Margaret Rutherford]]{{refn|Rutherford was replaced by [[Agnes Lauchlan]] from December 1942; [[Beryl Measor]] from August 1943; [[Irene Browne]] from April 1945; [[Joyce Barbour]] from September 1945. Holiday cover by Ella Milne, November 1943.<ref name=mm367/>|group=n}}
* Dr Bradman – [[Martin Lewis (English actor)|Martin Lewis]] 
* Mrs Bradman – [[Moya Nugent]] 
* Edith, a maid – [[Ruth Reeves]]{{refn|Replaced by [[Julia Lang (actress)|Julia Lang]].<ref name=mm367/>|group=n}}
::Source: Mander and Mitchenson.<ref name=mm367>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 367 and 374−375</ref>

There were several changes of cast during the run; all but two of the roles were played by different performers at one time or another. Only [[Martin Lewis (English actor)|Martin Lewis]] and [[Moya Nugent]] stayed from the first night to the last. [[Irene Browne]] played two different characters during the run. After playing the steely Ruth from 1942 to 1944 she appeared for six months in 1945 as the ebullient Madame Arcati. As well as changes in the regular principals, other actors − including Coward − appeared for short spells of two or more weeks to allow the regulars to take a holiday.<ref name=mm374/>

While the play continued its London run several tours were organised. A company under the management of [[Ronald Squire]] began a British tour in February 1942. The cast included Squire (Charles), Browne (Ruth), [[Ursula Jeans]] (Elvira), and Agnes Lauchlan (Madame Arcati). A company headed by Coward presented the piece along with ''[[Present Laughter]]'' and ''[[This Happy Breed]]'' under the collective title of ''Play Parade'', in a 25-week tour from September 1942. Coward played Charles; [[Joyce Carey]], Ruth; [[Judy Campbell]], Elvira; and [[Beryl Measor]], Madame Arcati. Another tour went out in 1943, headed by [[John Wentworth (actor)|John Wentworth]] as Charles and [[Mona Washbourne]] as Madame Arcati.<ref name=mm374>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 374−375</ref>

From February 1944 an [[Entertainments National Service Association|ENSA]] company toured the Middle East and continental Europe with ''Blithe Spirit''. [[Emlyn Williams]] played Charles; Jessie Evans and [[Elliott Mason]] shared the role of Madame Arcati, [[Adrianne Allen]] played Ruth; and [[Lueen MacGrath]], Elvira. From October 1945 to February 1946 another ENSA company played ''Blithe Spirit'' (and ''[[Hamlet]]'') in India and Burma for the armed forces. [[John Gielgud]] played Charles; Irene Browne, Madame Arcati; Marian Spencer, Ruth; and [[Hazel Terry]], Elvira.<ref name=mm374/>

==Later productions==
===Britain===
In July 1970 the play was revived in the West End at the [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe Theatre]], starring [[Patrick Cargill]] as Charles, [[Phyllis Calvert]] as Ruth, Amanda Reiss as Elvira and [[Beryl Reid]] as Madame Arcati; it ran until January 1971.<ref>"Theatres", ''The Times'', 23 July 1970; and 14 January 1971, p. 10</ref> It was revived by [[Royal National Theatre|the National Theatre]] in 1976 in a production directed by [[Harold Pinter]], starring [[Richard Johnson (actor)|Richard Johnson]] as Charles, [[Rowena Cooper]] as Ruth, [[Maria Aitken]] as Elvira and [[Elizabeth Spriggs]] as Madame Arcati.<ref name=mb1/> Another London revival played in 1986 at the [[Vaudeville Theatre]], starring [[Simon Cadell]] as Charles, [[Jane Asher]] as Ruth, [[Joanna Lumley]] as Elvira and [[Marcia Warren]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>"Blithe Spirit", ''[[The Guardian]]'', 1 February 1986, p. 12</ref> A 1997 revival at the [[Chichester Festival]], directed by [[Tim Luscombe]], featured [[Steven Pacey]] (Charles), [[Belinda Lang]] (Ruth), [[Twiggy]] (Elvira) and [[Dora Bryan]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>Spencer, Charles. "Comic turns and piquant pleasures", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 19 June 1997, p. 29</ref>

[[File:AngelaLansbury 2009.jpg|thumb|[[Angela Lansbury]] following a performance of the play in 2009]]
The piece was back in the West End at the [[Savoy Theatre]] in 2004, in a production directed by [[Thea Sharrock]], starring [[Aden Gillett]] as Charles, [[Joanna Riding]] as Ruth, [[Amanda Drew]] as Elvira and [[Penelope Keith]] (succeeded by [[Stephanie Cole]]) as Madame Arcati. Matt Wolf wrote in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', "Sharrock and her company land every laugh in a play that induces an indecent amount of pleasure while never letting us forget the extent to which ''Blithe Spirit'' comes marinated in pain."<ref name=Wolf1>Wolf, Matt. [https://variety.com/2004/legit/reviews/blithe-spirit-6-1200529325 "''Blithe Spirit''"], ''Variety'', 28 November 20014. Retrieved 3 March 2021</ref>

Sharrock directed a revival of her production of the play, which started as a UK tour<ref>[http://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/06-2010/steadman-spirit-confirms-west-end-and-tour-dates_12849.html "Steadman ''Spirit'' Confirms West End & Tour Dates"], ''What'sOnStage'', 30 June 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2014</ref> and then moved to the [[Apollo Theatre]], London. It ran there from March to June 2011, with a cast including [[Robert Bathurst]] as Charles, [[Hermione Norris]] as Ruth, [[Ruthie Henshall]] as Elvira and [[Alison Steadman]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>[[Michael Billington (critic)|Billington, Michael]]. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/mar/10/bilthe-spirit-review?INTCMP=SRCH "Blithe Spirit: review"], ''The Guardian'', 10 March 2011</ref>

A West End production, directed by [[Michael Blakemore]], opened at the [[Gielgud Theatre]] in March 2014, with [[Charles Edwards (English actor)|Charles Edwards]] as Charles, [[Janie Dee]] as Ruth, [[Jemima Rooper]] as Elvira, [[Angela Lansbury]] as Madame Arcati, and Jones as Dr Bradman as in Blakemore's 2009 Broadway production. It ran until June.<ref>Billington, Michael. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/mar/18/blithe-spirit-review-fine-noel-coward-revival "Blithe Spirit review: The play's the thing in a fine Noël Coward revival"], ''The Guardian'', 18 March 2014</ref>

A revival at the [[Theatre Royal Bath]] in 2019 was followed by a UK tour and a West End run at the [[Duke of York's Theatre]] that opened in March 2020. After 12 performances, it was interrupted due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]]. The production starred [[Jennifer Saunders]] as Madame Arcati and [[Richard Eyre]] directed. [[Geoffrey Streatfeild]] and [[Lisa Dillon]] played Charles and Ruth Condomine, [[Simon Coates (actor)|Simon Coates]] and [[Lucy Robinson (actress)|Lucy Robinson]] were Dr and Mrs Bradman, [[Emma Naomi]] played Elvira and Rose Wardlaw was Edith. Design was by [[Anthony Ward]], lighting by Howard Harrison, sound by John Leonard and illusions by [[Paul Kieve]].<ref>Swain, Marianka. [https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/BWW-Review-BLITHE-SPIRIT-Duke-of-Yorks-Theatre-20200311 "BWW Review: ''Blithe Spirit'', Duke of York's Theatre"], BroadwayWorld.com, 11 March 11, 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2021</ref><ref>[https://www.bestoftheatre.co.uk/blog/post/jennifer-saunders-blithe-spirit "Jennifer Saunders returns to ''Blithe Spirit'' in West End from 16 September"], Bestoftheatre.co.uk, 29 May 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021</ref>

The Eyre production returned to the West End for a limited run from September to November 2021 at the [[Harold Pinter Theatre]] with the same cast and crew, except that [[Madeleine Mantock]] played Elvira.<ref>Purves, Libby. [https://britishtheatre.com/review-blithe-spirit-harold-pinter-theatre "Review: ''Blithe Spirit'', Harold Pinter Theatre London"], BritishTheatre.com, 23 September 2021</ref>

====London casts, 1970 to 2019====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: left; margin-right: 0;"
|- style="text-align:center;"
| '''Roles'''
| '''1970'''
| '''1976'''
| '''1986'''
| '''2004'''
| '''2011'''
| '''2014'''
| '''2019'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|
| '''[[Gielgud Theatre|Globe]]'''
| '''[[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] '''
| '''[[Vaudeville Theatre|Vaudeville]]'''
| '''[[Savoy Theatre|Savoy]]'''
| '''[[Apollo Theatre|Apollo]]'''
| '''[[Gielgud Theatre|Gielgud]]'''
| '''[[Harold Pinter Theatre|Harold Pinter]]'''
|-
| Charles
| [[Patrick Cargill]]
| [[Richard Johnson (actor)|Richard Johnson]]
| [[Simon Cadell]]
| [[Aden Gillett]]
| [[Robert Bathurst]]
| [[Charles Edwards (actor)|Charles Edwards]]
| [[Geoffrey Streatfeild]]
|-
| Ruth
| [[Phyllis Calvert]]
| [[Rowena Cooper]]
| [[Jane Asher]]
| [[Joanna Riding]]
| [[Hermione Norris]]
| [[Janie Dee]]
| [[Lisa Dillon]]
|-
| Elvira
| Amanda Reiss
| [[Maria Aitken]]
| [[Joanna Lumley]]
| [[Amanda Drew]]
| [[Ruthie Henshall]]
| [[Jemima Rooper]]
| [[Emma Naomi]]
|-
| Madame Arcati
| [[Beryl Reid]]
| [[Elizabeth Spriggs]]
| [[Marcia Warren]]
| [[Penelope Keith]]
| [[Alison Steadman]]
| [[Angela Lansbury]]
| [[Jennifer Saunders]]
|-
| Dr Bradman
| John Hart Dyke
| [[Geoffrey Chater]]
| Roger Hume
| Derek Hutchinson
| [[Bo Poraj]]
| [[Simon Jones (actor)|Simon Jones]]
| [[Simon Coates (actor)|Simon Coates]]
|-
| Mrs Bradman
| Daphne Newton
| [[Joan Hickson]]
| Eira Griffiths
| Barbara Kirby
| Charlotte Thornton
| Sandra Shipley
| [[Lucy Robinson (actress)|Lucy Robinson]]
|-
| Edith
| Sylvia Brayshay
| Susan Williamson
| Lynette McMarrough
| [[Michelle Terry]]
| Jodie Taibi
| Susan Louise O'Connor
| Rose Wardlaw
|}

===America===
The [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] premiere was on 5 November 1941 at the [[Morosco Theatre]], presented by Coward's American producer, [[John C. Wilson]], with designs by Stewart Chaney. The play transferred to the [[Booth Theatre]] on 18 May 1942; it ran for a total of 657 performances.<ref>Gaye, p. 1543</ref> The play won the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle|New York Drama Critics' Circle Award]] for Best Foreign Play for the 1941–1942 season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards Past Winners |url=https://www.dramacritics.org/dc_pastawards.html |access-date=31 January 2025 |website=New York Drama Critics' Circle}}</ref> After closing at the Booth on 5 June 1943, a return engagement played 32 performances from 6 September to 2 October 1943 at the Morosco. [[Haila Stoddard]] took over as Elvira.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blithe Spirit – Broadway Play – Original {{!}} IBDB |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/blithe-spirit-13286 |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=www.ibdb.com}}</ref> While the first Broadway production was still running, Wilson mounted another in [[Chicago]]. It opened on 17 February 1942 at the [[Harris and Selwyn Theaters|Selwyn Theater]].<ref>"Coward Play Recalls First Nights of Old", ''Chicago Daily Tribune'', 19 February 1942, p. 17</ref>

''Blithe Spirit'' was revived on Broadway at the [[Neil Simon Theatre]] on 31 March 1987 in a production directed by [[Brian Murray (actor)|Brian Murray]]. It starred [[Richard Chamberlain]] as Charles, [[Judith Ivey]] as Ruth, [[Blythe Danner]] as Elvira and [[Geraldine Page]] as Madame Arcati. It ran for 104 performances. Page, who received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress, died of a heart attack during the run;<ref>"Geraldine Page Is Dead", ''The New York Times'', 15 June 1987, p. A1</ref> [[Patricia Conolly]] succeeded her in the role.<ref>Kolbert, Elizabeth. [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/15/obituaries/geraldine-page-62-dies-a-star-of-stage-and-film.html?scp=3&sq=patricia%20conolly,%20blithe%20spirit&st=cse "Geraldine Page, 62, Dies; A Star of Stage and Film"]. ''The New York Times'', 15 June 1987, retrieved 2 August 2010 {{subscription}}</ref>

A Broadway revival played in 2009 at the [[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert Theatre]].<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123005.html "Simon Jones Joins Cast of Blithe Spirit; Revival to Play the Shubert"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081107070040/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123005.html |date=7 November 2008 }}, playbill.com, 4 November 2008</ref>  Blakemore directed, with [[Rupert Everett]] as Charles, [[Jayne Atkinson]] as Ruth, [[Christine Ebersole]] as Elvira, [[Angela Lansbury]] as Madame Arcati and [[Simon Jones (actor)|Simon Jones]] as Dr Bradman.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123437.html "Atkinson Joins Starry Cast of Broadway's Blithe Spirit Revival"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107141019/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123437.html |date=7 January 2009 }}, playbill.com, 17 November 2008</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' found the revival somewhat uneven, calling the opening performance "bumpy", but praised Lansbury's performance.{{#tag:ref|The production won several awards. Lansbury won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress.<ref>[http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html "Who's Nominated?"] TonyAwards.com, retrieved 11 May 2009</ref> The play won the [[Drama League Award]] for Distinguished Revival of a Play<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/129267-Billy_Carnage_Hair_Blithe_and_Rush_Win_Drama_League_Awards "Billy, Carnage, Hair, Blithe and Rush Win Drama League Awards"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518073846/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/129267-Billy_Carnage_Hair_Blithe_and_Rush_Win_Drama_League_Awards |date=18 May 2009 }}, playbill.com, 15 May 2009</ref>|group= n}} 

A revival, directed by Blakemore with most of the West End cast (including Lansbury at age 89) except [[Charlotte Parry]] as Ruth, toured North America from December 2014 to March 2015, visiting [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]], [[Toronto]] and Washington D.C.<ref>McNulty, Charles. [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-blithe-spirit-ahmason-theatre-angela-lansbury-review-20141216-column.html "Angela Lansbury keeps spirits high in ''Blithe Spirit''"], ''Los Angeles Times'', 15 December 2014</ref><ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-will-star-in-north-american-tour-of-blithe-spirit-itinerary-and-cast-announced-330645 "Angela Lansbury Will Star in North American Tour of Blithe Spirit; Itinerary and Cast Announced"], ''Playbill'', 16 September 2014</ref>

====American casts, 1941 to 2011====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: left; margin-right: 0;"
|- style="text-align:center;"
| '''Roles'''</p>
| '''1941'''</p>
| '''1942'''</p>
| '''1987'''</p>
| '''2009'''</p>
| '''2011'''</p>
|- style="text-align:center;"
|
| '''[[Morosco Theatre|Morosco]]'''</p>
| '''[[Harris and Selwyn Theaters|Selwyn]]'''</p>
| '''[[Neil Simon Theatre|Neil Simon]]'''</p>
| '''[[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert]]'''</p>
| On tour</p>
|-
| Charles
| [[Clifton Webb]]
| [[Dennis King (actor)|Dennis King]]
| [[Richard Chamberlain]]
| [[Rupert Everett]]
| [[Charles Edwards (actor)|Charles Edwards]]
|-
| Ruth
| [[Peggy Wood]]
| [[Carol Goodner]]
| [[Judith Ivey]]
| [[Jayne Atkinson]]
| [[Charlotte Perry]]
|-
| Elvira
| [[Leonora Corbett]]

|[[Annabella (actress)|Annabella]]
| [[Blythe Danner]]
| [[Christine Ebersole]]
| [[Jemima Rooper]]
|-
| Madame Arcati
| [[Mildred Natwick]]
| [[Estelle Winwood]]
| [[Geraldine Page]]
| [[Angela Lansbury]]
| [[Angela Lansbury]]
|-
| Dr Bradman
| [[Philip Tonge]]
|[[Lowell Gilmore]]
| [[William LeMassena]]
| [[Simon Jones (actor)|Simon Jones]]
| [[Simon Jones (actor)|Simon Jones]]
|-
| Mrs Bradman
|Phyllis Joyce
| Valerie Cossart
| [[Patricia Conolly]]
| [[Deborah Rush]]
| Sandra Shipley
|-
| Edith
| [[Doreen Lang]]
|Belle Gardner
| [[Nicola Cavendish]]
| Susan Louise O'Connor
| Susan Louise O'Connor
|}

===Australia===
A production at the [[Comedy Theatre, Melbourne]] in April 1945 starred [[Edwin Styles]] as Charles, [[Aileen Britton]] as Ruth, [[Bettina Welch]] as Elvira and Letty Craydon as Madame Arcati.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1094777 "Noel Coward's Reckless Comedy"], ''The Argus'', 16 May 1945, p. 7</ref> In 2003 [[Roger Hodgman]] directed a production by the [[Melbourne Theatre Company]], with [[Miriam Margolyes]] as Arcati.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-11-30 |title=Blithe Spirit |url=https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/blithe-spirit-20031130-gdwu8v.html |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=The Age}}</ref> It later played the [[Sydney Opera House]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-01-02 |title=Miriam's no coward |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/miriams-no-coward-20040102-gdi36i.html |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

===France===
A French translation, ''Jeux d'esprits'', was presented at the [[Théâtre de la Madeleine]], Paris, in November 1946, directed by [[Pierre Dux]], with [[Robert Murzeau]] as Charles, [[Renée Devillers]] as Suzanne (Ruth), [[Simone Renant]] as Elvire (Elvira) and [[Jeanne Fusier-Gir]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>[http://www.regietheatrale.com/index/index/base_donnees/dossiers/rep.php?id=663&titre=JEUX%20D "Jeux d'esprits"], Association de la Régie Théâtrale. Retrieved 2 November 2022</ref> In ''[[Le Figaro]]'' [[Jean-Jacques Gautier]] acknowledged Coward as a master of comic absurdity but found the piece "thin, thin, thin" – the champagne a little lacking in sparkle.<ref>Gautier, Jean-Jacques. [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bd6t5645654/f3 "Jeux d'esprits"], ''Le Figaro'', 10 November 1946, p.  3</ref>

==Critical reception==
After the first performance in Manchester the reviewer in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' thought the mixture of farce and impending tragedy "An odd mixture and not untouched by genius of a sort".<ref>"Opera House", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 17 June 1941, p. 6</ref> After the London premiere, [[Ivor Brown]] commented in ''The Observer'' on the skill with which Coward had treated his potentially difficult subject; he ended his notice, "But here is a new play, a gay play, and one irresistibly propelled into our welcoming hearts by Miss Rutherford's Lady of the Trances, as rapt a servant of the séance as ever had spirits on tap."<ref>Brown, Ivor. "At the Play", ''The Observer'', 6 June 1941, p. 7</ref> The London correspondent of ''The Guardian'' wrote, "London received Mr Noel Coward's ghoulish farce with loud, though not quite unanimous acclaim. There was a solitary boo – from an annoyed spiritualist, presumably."<ref>"Blithe Spirit in London", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 4 July 1941, p. 4</ref>  ''[[The Times]]'' considered the piece the equal not only of Coward's earlier success ''[[Hay Fever (play)|Hay Fever]]'' but of [[Oscar Wilde|Wilde]]'s classic comedy ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]''.<ref>"Piccadilly Theatre", ''The Times'', 3 July 1941, p. 2</ref> There were dissenting views. [[James Agate]] thought the play "common",<ref>Citron, p. 7</ref> and [[Graham Greene]] called it "a weary exhibition of bad taste".<ref>Pryce-Jones, p. 74</ref>

When the piece had its first West End revival in 1970 the play was warmly though not rapturously praised by the critics,<ref name=mb>Billington, Michael. "Comedy, not farce", ''The Times'', 24 July 1970, p. 13</ref><ref>Barber, John. "Blithe Spirit as delightful as ever", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 24 July 1970, p. 14; Hope-Wallace, Philip. "Blithe Spirit at the Globe", ''The Guardian'', 24 July 1970, p. 8; and Dawson, Helen. "Not so blithe", ''The Observer'',  26 July 1970, p. 24</ref> but by the time of the next major production, in 1976, [[Irving Wardle]] of ''The Times'' considered, "Stylistically, it is Coward's masterpiece: his most complete success in imposing his own view of things on the brute facts of existence,"<ref>Wardle, Irving. "Blithe Spirit", ''The Times'' 25 June 1976, p. 11</ref> and [[Michael Billington (critic)|Michael Billington]] of ''The Guardian'' wrote of Coward's influence on [[Harold Pinter]].<ref name=mb1>Billington, Michael. "Familiar spirits", ''The Guardian'', 7 July 1976, p. 8</ref> Coward's partner, [[Graham Payn]], commented to [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]] that Coward would have loved the production (directed by Pinter) "because at last the play was centred on the marriage between Charles and Ruth; Elvira and ... Madame Arcati were incidentals".<ref>Hall, p. 271</ref>{{refn|At the first rehearsal Pinter had told his cast, "Noël Coward calls this play an improbable farce. Well, I just wish to make one thing clear – I do not regard it as improbable and I do not regard it as a farce".<ref>Hall, p. 232</ref>|group=n}} After the Broadway revival in 1987 ''[[Newsweek]]'' commented that the play reminds us that Coward was the precursor of playwrights like Pinter and [[Joe Orton]].<ref name=mm376>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 376</ref>

In 2004 [[Charles Spencer (journalist)|Charles Spencer]] of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' wrote, "With ''Hay Fever'' and ''Private Lives'', ''Blithe Spirit'' strikes me as being one of Coward's three indisputable comic masterpieces. [It is] the outrageous frivolity with which Coward treats mortality that makes the piece so bracing."<ref>Spencer, Charles. Review. ''The Daily Telegraph'', 24 November 2004, p. 24</ref>

==Adaptations==

===Film===
''Blithe Spirit'' has twice been adapted for the cinema. A [[Blithe Spirit (1945 film)|1945 film]] was directed by [[David Lean]], and starred two of the principals from the original stage production reprising their roles: [[Kay Hammond]] as Elvira and [[Margaret Rutherford]] as Madame Arcati. [[Constance Cummings]] played Ruth, and [[Rex Harrison]] Charles.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120712001107/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6a573b6a "Blithe Spirit"], British Film Institute. Retrieved 19 March 2014</ref> Coward was out of the country during the filming and was therefore obliged to leave the direction to Lean. The author was less than impressed with the result. He found Lean's direction static and said that the film "wasn't entirely bad but it was a great deal less good than it should have been".<ref>Day, p. 88</ref>

A [[Blithe Spirit (2020 film)|2020 film]] adaptation was directed by [[Edward Hall (director)|Edward Hall]], with [[Dan Stevens]] as Charles, [[Isla Fisher]] as Ruth, [[Leslie Mann]] as Elvira and [[Judi Dench]] as Madame Arcati. In ''[[The Guardian]]'' [[Peter Bradshaw]] gave the film one star out of a possible five: "a festival of mugging and farcical overacting".<ref>Bradshaw, Peter. [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/13/blithe-spirit-review-judi-dench-isla-fisher-noel-coward "Blithe Spirit review – Judi Dench presides over a deathly farce"], ''The Guardian'', 13 January 2021</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' also published an unenthusiastic review: "more screw-loose than screwball ... a ludicrous adaptation of Noël Coward's 1941 stage play, reimagines its source material as little more than a slip-and-fall farce".<ref>Catsoulis, Jeanette. [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/movies/blithe-spirit-review.html "Blithe Spirit' Review: Dead, but Not Loving It"], ''The New York Times'', 18 February 2021</ref>

===Radio===
American radio adaptations were transmitted in 1944 ([[NBC]], with [[Ronald Colman]], [[Loretta Young]] and [[Edna Best]]), 1947 ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], with Clifton Webb, [[Leonora Corbett]] and Mildred Natwick), and 1952 (NBC, with [[John Loder (actor)|John Loder]] and Mildred Natwick).<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 377</ref>

[[BBC Radio]]'s first adaptation was broadcast in 1954, with [[Michael Denison]] (Charles), [[Thelma Scott]] (Ruth), [[Dulcie Gray]] (Elvira) and [[Winifred Oughton]] (Madame Arcati).<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/f5e212e6f9f543ff923b2d0be33c82b0 "Curtain Up"], BBC Genome. Retrieved 2 November 2022</ref> A second version with Denison and Gray was broadcast in 1972, with [[Gudrun Ure]] as Ruth and [[Sylvia Coleridge]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/409671ee015d4f629d5ce1f6fb6f14f0 "The Christmas Play: Blithe Spirit"], BBC Genome. Retrieved 2 November 2022</ref> A 1983 version featured [[Paul Eddington]] as Charles, [[Julia McKenzie]] as Ruth, [[Anna Massey]] as Elvira and [[Peggy Mount]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>"Radio", ''The Times'', 27 December 1983, p. 17</ref> The short-lived British commercial radio station [[Oneword]] presented a 2002 adaptation co-produced with and subsequently released on CD by [[Naxos (company)|Naxos Audio Books]]. The director was [[Sheridan Morley]] and the cast was led by [[Corin Redgrave]] (Charles), [[Kika Markham]] (Ruth), [[Joanna Lumley]] (Elvira) and [[Thelma Ruby]] (Madame Arcati).<ref>Notes to Naxos Audio CD set NA 226312D (2002), {{oclc| 51025166}}</ref> A 2008 BBC Radio adaptation featured [[Roger Allam]] as Charles, [[Hermione Gulliford]] as Ruth, Zoe Waites as Elvira and [[Maggie Steed]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b01ghlgw " Noel Coward - Blithe Spirit"]. BBC Genome. Retrieved 2 November 2022</ref> In December 2014 an adaptation of the play featured cast members of ''[[The Archers]]'' in a supposed amateur production.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2014/51/blithe-spirit "Afternoon Drama: ''Blithe Spirit''"], BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 29 December 2014</ref>

===Television===
An American television adaptation was broadcast in 1946, with [[Philip Tonge]] as Charles, [[Carol Goodner]] as Ruth, [[Leonora Corbett]] as Elvira, [[Estelle Winwood]] as Madame Arcati and Doreen Lang reprising the role of Edith.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310769/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5  "Blithe Spirit"], IMDb, retrieved 19 March 2014</ref> In Britain, [[BBC television]] broadcast a production in 1948, directed by [[George More O'Ferrall]], with [[Frank Lawton]] as Charles, Marian Spencer as Ruth, [[Betty Ann Davies]] as Elvira and Beryl Measor reprising her stage role of Madame Arcati.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120713124651/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b8bd30ff1 "Blithe Spirit"], British Film Institute, retrieved 19 March 2014</ref> On 14 January 1956 Coward directed [[Blithe Spirit (1956 film)|a live American television adaptation]] for the ''[[Ford Star Jubilee]]'' series, in which he also starred as Charles, with [[Claudette Colbert]] as Ruth, [[Lauren Bacall]] as Elvira and [[Mildred Natwick]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>Lesley, pp. 348–349</ref> A British commercial television adaptation in 1964 was directed by [[Joan Kemp-Welch]], with [[Griffith Jones (actor)|Griffith Jones]] as Charles, [[Helen Cherry]] as Ruth, [[Joanna Dunham]] as Elvira and [[Hattie Jacques]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140319175003/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b7f516d13 A Choice of Coward No 2 – Blithe Spirit], British Film Institute, retrieved 19 March 2014</ref> Another American television TV production was presented in 1966 on ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]'', with [[Dirk Bogarde]] as Charles, [[Rachel Roberts (actress)|Rachel Roberts]] as Ruth, [[Rosemary Harris]] as Elvira and [[Ruth Gordon]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0292454/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 "Blithe Spirit"], IMDb, retrieved 19 March 2014</ref>

===Musical===
The play was adapted into the musical ''[[High Spirits (musical)|High Spirits]]'' in 1964, with book, music and lyrics by [[Hugh Martin]] and [[Timothy Gray]]. It had a Broadway run of 375 performances, starring [[Edward Woodward]] as Charles, [[Louise Troy]] as Ruth, [[Tammy Grimes]] as Elvira and [[Beatrice Lillie]] as Madame Arcati.<ref name=mm376/> It had a three-month West End run in 1964–1965, with [[Denis Quilley]] as Charles, Jan Walters as Ruth, [[Marti Stevens (actress)|Marti Stevens]] as Elvira and [[Cicely Courtneidge]] as Madame Arcati.<ref>"''Blithe Spirit'' Becomes a Musical", ''The Times'', 4 November 1964, p. 16; and "Theatres", ''The Times'', 23 January 1965, p. 2</ref>

===Novelisation===
The play was novelised by [[Charles Osborne (music writer)|Charles Osborne]] in 2004.<ref>Millington, Barry. [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/oct/18/charles-osborne-obituary "Charles Osborne obituary"], ''The Guardian'', 18 October 2017</ref>

==Notes, references and sources==

===Notes===

{{Reflist|group=n}}

===References===

{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book | last=Citron | first=Stephen |authorlink=Stephen Citron| year=2005 | title=Noel & Cole: the Sophisticates | location=Milwaukee | publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation | isbn=978-0-634-09302-9}}
* {{cite book | last =Coward | first =Noël | authorlink=Noël Coward | title =Blithe Spirit | date = 1941| location = London| publisher = Samuel French| isbn =978-0-573-01044-6 }}
* {{cite book | last= Coward | first= Noël | year= 1954| title= Future Indefinite | location=London | publisher= Heinemann | oclc= 5002107}}
* {{cite book | last= Day| first=Barry | year= 2005| title=Coward on Film: The Cinema of Noël Coward | location= Lanham| publisher= Scarecrow Press| isbn=978-0-8108-5358-4}}
* {{cite book | editor-last = Gaye | editor-first = Freda  | year = 1967 | title = Who's Who in the Theatre | edition = fourteenth | location = London | publisher = Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons | oclc = 5997224 }}
* {{cite book | last =Hall | first =Peter|authorlink=Peter Hall (director) | title = Peter Hall's Diaries| date = 1984| location = London| publisher = Hamish Hamilton| isbn = 978-0-241-11047-8}}
* {{cite book | last= Hoare | first = Philip | authorlink= Philip Hoare|year= 1995 | title= Noël Coward: A Biography | location=London | publisher= Sinclair-Stevenson | isbn= 978-1-85619-265-1}}
* {{cite book | last= Lahr | first= John |authorlink=John Lahr| year= 1982 | title= Coward the Playwright | url= https://archive.org/details/cowardplaywright0000lahr | url-access= registration | location= London | publisher= Methuen | isbn= 978-0-413-48050-7}}
* {{cite book | last= Lesley | first= Cole | year= 1976 | title= The Life of Noël Coward | location=London | publisher= Cape| isbn= 978-0-224-01288-1}}
* {{cite book | last= Mander| first=Raymond |authorlink=Mander and Mitchenson|author2=[[Mander and Mitchenson|Joe Mitchenson]] | others= Barry Day and [[Sheridan Morley]] (2000 edition, ed.)| title=Theatrical Companion to Coward | year=2000|orig-year=1957|edition=second | location= London| publisher=Oberon Books | isbn=978-1-84002-054-0 }}
* {{cite book | last= Payn | first= Graham |authorlink=Graham Payn| year= 1994 | title= My Life with Noël Coward | location= New York| publisher= Applause Books | isbn=978-1-55783-190-3}}
* {{cite book | last = Pryce-Jones | first = David |authorlink=David Pryce-Jones| title = Graham Greene| date = 1963| location = Edinburgh | publisher= Oliver and Boyd | oclc =652411719 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?id=2087 Internet Broadway Database listing]
* [http://www.johnpierce.net/theatre/blithe.html ''Blithe Spirit''] Provides links to reviews of the 2009 Broadway revival
* [https://archive.org/download/TheaterGuildontheAir/Tgoa_47-02-23_ep064-Blithe_Spirit.mp3 1946 ''Theatre Guild on the Air'' radio adaptation of play] at [[Internet Archive]]
* [https://archive.org/download/BestPlays/BestPlays52-08-3113BlitheSpirit.mp3 1952 ''Best Plays'' radio adaptation of play] at [[Internet Archive]]
{{Noël Coward musicals}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blithe Spirit (Play)}}
[[Category:1941 plays]]
[[Category:Plays by Noël Coward]]
[[Category:British plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:Séances]]
[[Category:Plays about ghosts]]
[[Category:Plays about writers]]