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Blithe Spirit (play)

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File:Blithe Spirit.jpg
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 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 in 1941 and ran for 1,997 performances, a new record for a non-musical play in London. It also did well on Broadway later that year, running for 657 performances. The play was adapted for the cinema in 1945; a second film version followed in 2020. Coward directed a musical adaptation, 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. Template:TOC limit

BackgroundEdit

The title of the play is taken from Shelley's poem "To a Skylark", ("Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! / Bird thou never wert").<ref>Nightingale, Benedict. "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 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 Keats, and he was still thinking about his ghostly light comedy. He later recounted:

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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>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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SynopsisEdit

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" 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.<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>

First productionEdit

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 castEdit

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 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 as Charles and Mona Washbourne as Madame Arcati.<ref name=mm374>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 374−375</ref>

From February 1944 an 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 productionsEdit

BritainEdit

In July 1970 the play was revived in the West End at the 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 the National Theatre in 1976 in a production directed by Harold Pinter, starring 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
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, "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. "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>"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>Billington, Michael. "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 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. "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. The production starred Jennifer Saunders as Madame Arcati and Richard Eyre directed. Geoffrey Streatfeild and Lisa Dillon played Charles and Ruth Condomine, Simon Coates and 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. "BWW Review: Blithe Spirit, Duke of York's Theatre", BroadwayWorld.com, 11 March 11, 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2021</ref><ref>"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. "Review: Blithe Spirit, Harold Pinter Theatre London", BritishTheatre.com, 23 September 2021</ref>

London casts, 1970 to 2019Edit

Roles 1970 1976 1986 2004 2011 2014 2019
Globe National Theatre Vaudeville Savoy Apollo Gielgud Harold Pinter
Charles Patrick Cargill Richard Johnson Simon Cadell Aden Gillett Robert Bathurst 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 Simon Coates
Mrs Bradman Daphne Newton Joan Hickson Eira Griffiths Barbara Kirby Charlotte Thornton Sandra Shipley Lucy Robinson
Edith Sylvia Brayshay Susan Williamson Lynette McMarrough Michelle Terry Jodie Taibi Susan Louise O'Connor Rose Wardlaw

AmericaEdit

The 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 Award for Best Foreign Play for the 1941–1942 season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While the first Broadway production was still running, Wilson mounted another in Chicago. It opened on 17 February 1942 at the 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. 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. "Geraldine Page, 62, Dies; A Star of Stage and Film". The New York Times, 15 June 1987, retrieved 2 August 2010 Template:Subscription</ref>

A Broadway revival played in 2009 at the Shubert Theatre.<ref>Gans, Andrew. "Simon Jones Joins Cast of Blithe Spirit; Revival to Play the Shubert" Template:Webarchive, 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 as Dr Bradman.<ref>Gans, Andrew. "Atkinson Joins Starry Cast of Broadway's Blithe Spirit Revival" Template:Webarchive, 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.<ref group="n">The production won several awards. Lansbury won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress.<ref>"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. "Billy, Carnage, Hair, Blithe and Rush Win Drama League Awards" Template:Webarchive, playbill.com, 15 May 2009</ref></ref>

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. "Angela Lansbury keeps spirits high in Blithe Spirit", Los Angeles Times, 15 December 2014</ref><ref>Gans, Andrew. "Angela Lansbury Will Star in North American Tour of Blithe Spirit; Itinerary and Cast Announced", Playbill, 16 September 2014</ref>

American casts, 1941 to 2011Edit

Roles

 1941

 1942

 1987

 2009

 2011

Morosco

 Selwyn

 Neil Simon

 Shubert

 On tour

Charles Clifton Webb Dennis King Richard Chamberlain Rupert Everett Charles Edwards
Ruth Peggy Wood Carol Goodner Judith Ivey Jayne Atkinson Charlotte Perry
Elvira Leonora Corbett 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 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

AustraliaEdit

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>"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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It later played the Sydney Opera House.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

FranceEdit

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>"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. "Jeux d'esprits", Le Figaro, 10 November 1946, p. 3</ref>

Critical receptionEdit

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 but of 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 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 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>Template:Refn 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 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>

AdaptationsEdit

FilmEdit

Blithe Spirit has twice been adapted for the cinema. A 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>"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 2020 film adaptation was directed by 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. "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. "Blithe Spirit' Review: Dead, but Not Loving It", The New York Times, 18 February 2021</ref>

RadioEdit

American radio adaptations were transmitted in 1944 (NBC, with Ronald Colman, Loretta Young and Edna Best), 1947 (ABC, with Clifton Webb, Leonora Corbett and Mildred Natwick), and 1952 (NBC, with 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>"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>"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 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), Template:Oclc</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>" 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>"Afternoon Drama: Blithe Spirit", BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 29 December 2014</ref>

TelevisionEdit

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>"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>"Blithe Spirit", British Film Institute, retrieved 19 March 2014</ref> On 14 January 1956 Coward directed 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 as Charles, Helen Cherry as Ruth, Joanna Dunham as Elvira and Hattie Jacques as Madame Arcati.<ref>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 as Ruth, Rosemary Harris as Elvira and Ruth Gordon as Madame Arcati.<ref>"Blithe Spirit", IMDb, retrieved 19 March 2014</ref>

MusicalEdit

The play was adapted into the 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 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>

NovelisationEdit

The play was novelised by Charles Osborne in 2004.<ref>Millington, Barry. "Charles Osborne obituary", The Guardian, 18 October 2017</ref>

Notes, references and sourcesEdit

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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SourcesEdit

External linksEdit

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