BLITHE SPIRIT
By Noel Coward
Directed by Kate Blackhurst
Canberra Repertory Society. Theatre 3, preview November 20 then November 21-December 6. Tickets $40/$35 (preview $30). Bookings: canberrarep.org.au
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Kate Blackhurst is making her Canberra Rep directorial debut with one of the classic British comedies, Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit. It's light, but there were darker undertones at the time of its creation.
In the play, author Charles Condomine (Peter Holland) is researching a book with the help of the medium Madame Arcati (Liz St Clair-Long) who conducts a seance with unexpected results. The ghost of his deceased first wife, Anita (Elvira Conodmine) is conjured up but only he can see her, which makes things awkward – especially with his second wife, Ruth (Emma Wood).
Blackhurst says, "It was written in 1941 – when Noel Coward wrote it, he had escaped from London during the Blitz and gone to the country where he wrote it in a short space of time: I believe two weeks."
Coward wanted to distract the public from the horrors of World War II with the play.
"It's set in 1941 but there's no mention of the war at all which was a very brave thing to do in my opinion: to keep entertaining people while the bombs were falling."
And that was, quite literally, the case: when the air raid sirens went off during performances, an announcement was made that people could leave but the show would go on.
It sounds risky, a comedy about death at a time when so many people were dying, but six weeks after Coward finished Blithe Spirit, it was first performed and was a resounding success, with the longest run of any play in the West End until The Mousetrap.
She sees similarities between Blithe Spirit and some of Coward's other plays – the two-wives scenario of Private Lives, for example – although the supernatural element distinguishes it from his other works.
"It's a comedy, it's light-hearted, but it could also have been quite a horror story or tragedy," Blackhurst says. That lightness of touch may be what helped make it a success, both in its own time and beyond – the play has been frequently revived and adapted for television, radio, film and even into a musical, retitled High Spirits.
One of the things she likes about Blithe Spirit is that it is "incredibly English" – no matter how peculiar or difficult things become, they can be faced with flippancy and a stiff upper lip.
And it's not total fluff. Blackhurst says that for her the story is about "sticking by your decisions, whatever decisions you make."
Everything has consequences, she says, and one just has to get on with life as it is.
It's also she says, about "the importance of maintaining dignity in difficult situations".
And things do get peculiar and difficult – especially when Ruth becomes convinced of Anita's ghostly presence and isn't happy about it. Charles, however, sees possibilities in this unusual menage a trois: why can't he enjoy the best qualities of both wives?
Coward was "an amazingly clever man", Blackhurst says. Known as The Master, he was an accomplished playwright, director, actor, singer and songwriter.
"His dialogue is fantastic but interestingly it's not overly quotable. With someone like Oscar Wilde or George Bernard Shaw, people can quote things they said, but not much with Noel Coward: it's about context. Lines can be very funny – 'Oh, really?' 'Yes, indeed' – but they're funny because of how they're delivered and the context rather than because of the words themselves."
Blackhurst, a writer, actor and director, was born in England and emigrated to New Zealand when she was 24-years-old for an adventure.
"I thought I'd go try the other side of the world."
She lived there for 15 years and then a couple of years ago decided it was again time for a change and she and her husband moved to Canberra. Since then she's acted in a couple of Rep plays and is enjoying her first time directing for the company,
"We have fabulous actors in it, great costumes, a great set – it's going to be beautiful."