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‘Blithe Spirit’, a comedy by Noel Coward, which played at the Yates Memorial Centre until February 7th, tells the story of a man who is suddenly haunted by the ghost, or spirit, of his ex-wife after the man, his current wife, and some friends decide to contact the spirit world.

Charles (Stephen Graham), and his wife, Ruth (Kaleen Harding), are joined one evening by their friends, Dr. Bradman (Don Berner), Mrs. Bradman (Barbara Nish), and a Medium, Madame Arcadi (Kate Connolly). They successfully communicate with the spirit world, in what appears to be simply for curiousity sake.

Their attempt brings the ghost of Charles’s deceased ex-wife, Elvira (Rita Peterson), into the living world, but only Charles can see and talk to her, which leads everyone else to assume he’s gone mad, especially when he keeps trying to convince them that he’s talking to a ghost.

Hilarity ensues as Charles, his wife, and their friends do their best to understand why Elvira’s spirit has decided to haunt them, and the fact that she doesn’t want to go back to the spirit world now that she’s with Charles again. Charles and Ruth’s marriage is also put to the test as her patience runs thin very quickly over this ‘joke’, especially when it is discovered Elvira’s resentment of their marriage.

It seemed clear after asking numerous members of the audience that the character of Elvira was definitely the fan favourite.

“I thought she (Elvira) was funny, wonderful. We love the makeup, she’s just really well done. The costume and the lighting. The acting is stand-out, very good,” said Amy Dodic.

Though the play did have a serious tone, it had many hilarious moments and one-liners that made it a joy to watch, and as some audience members noted, the production as a whole was very well done.

“I thought it was awesome. The ex-wife factor, love it. I want to haunt someone, that would be cool! I hope I can do that when I die! I love Elvira. I’d like to know what she would have looked like when she was alive,” said Shelia Standish, who admitted it was her first time seeing the play.

The production itself has been around for many years, and certain theatre-goers seem to have no hesitation in coming back to see it over and over again.

“We’ve seen it many times,” said the wife of Charles Lanier, who both agreed they enjoyed it as much that night as they did the first time they saw it.

Those in the audience all seemed to agree that the production was very well done.

“Very much so,” said Suzie Berge, when asked if she enjoyed the play. “Good acting, good makeup, good costumes, very effective.”

The play itself obviously seems more targeted toward the older generations and the elderly, as there didn’t seem to be a single young audience member in the seats.

Overall, ‘Blithe Spirit’ was an excellent theatre production, including the acting, costumes, and the set. Although it lasted nearly three hours, it was well worth the price of admissions, and the evening needed to watch it.

Originally posted 2009-02-09 17:37:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter