Blithe Spirit

Front cover of the first printed edition of Blithe Spirit from 1942.

Blithe Spirit: An Improbable Farce in Three Acts is a comic play by the British playwright, actor, director, singer and composer Noël Coward. It was first performed at the Manchester Opera House in June 1941. The production transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre in London's West End on July 2, 1941 before later moving to the St. James's Theatre and then the Duchess Theatre. In total, Blithe Spirit played in the West End for a record breaking 1,997 performances.The play's Broadway premiere was at the Morosco Theater on November 5, 1941.

The action takes place in the English country house that is home to the author Charles Condomine, his second wife Ruth, their maid Edith and other unseen servants. Hoping to gather information for a mystery novel he is writing about a murderous fake psychic, Charles invites a woman known as Madame Arcati to dinner. Madame Arcati, who has recently moved to the village where the Condomines live, had worked as a professional medium in London for several years. The only other guests at the dinner party are Dr. George Bradman and his wife Violet. Neither the Condomines nor the Bradmans believe in the supernatural and they all think Madame Arcati is a fraud. A séance is held, during which Madame Arcati goes into a trance and falls unconscious. Charles hears a voice that no one else can hear. The voice identifies itself as that of Charles' late first wife Elvira, who has been dead for seven years. After the guests have left, Elvira's ghost appears to Charles. Although Charles can see and hear the ghost, Ruth cannot. She believes that her husband is either going mad or, more likely, playing a cruel trick on her. Even when Charles asks Elvira to prove she is really there by moving a vase of flowers across the room, Ruth still believes it is an elaborate hoax. Due to the strength of Elvira's personality, however, Ruth comes to accept the ghost as real. Unhappy sharing her home with the ghost of her husband's first wife, Ruth asks Madame Arcati to exorcise the spirit. When both Edith and Charles are injured in apparent accidents on the same day, Ruth begins to suspect Elvira is trying to kill Charles so that she can be reunited with him in the afterlife.

Blithe Spirit was adapted as the Broadway musical High Spirits that was first performed in 1964. Film adaptations of Blithe Spirit were released in 1945 and 2020. The play has also been adapted for radio and television.

Plot

Act I

Blithe Spirit takes place entirely in the living room of the large country house in the English county of Kent where the novelist Charles Condomine lives with his wife Ruth. Both Charles and Ruth have been marred before and their previous spouses have both died. Elvira, Charles' first wife, died seven years before the start of the play.

The play opens on a summer evening when Charles, Ruth and their maid Edith are getting ready for a dinner party. The guests at the dinner party are to be Dr. George Bradman, his wife Violet and a woman known as Madame Arcati who claims to be able to communicate with the dead. Charles is planning to write a mystery novel called The Unseen about a fraudulent and homicidal medium. He has invited Madame Arcati to dinner so that he can find out firsthand how a medium operates. Ruth is excited about being with her husband at the start of his creative process. She asks him if Elvira ever used to help him with his writing. Ruth asks several other questions about Charles' first wife, including if Charles found Elvira more physically attractive than her. Charles refuses to answer that question.

The Bradmans arrive before Madame Arcati. Neither the Condomines nor the Bradmans know Madame Arcati very well. She has recently moved to the village. Dr. Bradman has treated her as a patient. Charles had previously met her as a fellow author. She writes fantasy books for children and biographies of minor European royals. The Condomines and the Bradmans had all been surprised to find out that Madame Arcati had worked as a professional medium in London for many years. Neither the Condomines nor the Bradmans believe it is possible to contact the dead. They all think Madame Arcati is a charlatan and hope they do not give away their skepticism by laughing. Madame Arcati arrives and dinner is served.

Ulf Qvarsebo, Erik Strandell, Lena Evert, Gerd Hegnell and Dagny Stenius in a production of Blithe Spirit in Sweden in 1963.

After dinner, Madame Arcati begins preparing to hold a séance. She says that her spirit guide, a little girl named Daphne, likes music. She looks at the Condomines' gramophone records and chooses to play the Irving Berlin song "Always", much to Charles' obvious distress. By using one tap on the table for "yes" and two taps for "no", Daphne tells Madame Arcati that a spirit wants to talk to Charles. Madame Arcati fails to make contact with the spirit and decides to go into a trance before trying again. Charles starts to hear a voice that nobody else can hear. The voice identifies itself as that of Elvira. Madame Arcati falls unconscious. Dr. Bradman revives her. She apologizes for the séance being a failure and suggests they try again another time.

After the guests have left, Charles begins to see the ghost of Elvira. She says she is there because Charles called her back, something that Charles strenuously denies. Ruth cannot see or hear the ghost. When Charles tells her he is talking to Elvira, Ruth thinks he is either drunk, going mad or playing a trick on her. Ruth goes to bed. Charles continues talking to Elvira for some time and falls asleep in the living room.

Act II

The following morning, everything appears normal again. Charles denies that he was drunk or playing a trick on Ruth the previous evening. He admits, however, that he could have been hallucinating. Elvira's ghost then reappears. Charles s no longer in any doubt that the ghost is real and wants to prove to Ruth that Elvira is with them. He asks Elvira to carry a vase full of flowers across the room. Although to Ruth the vase would appear to be floating in mid-air, Ruth still insists that her husband is playing a trick on her.

By the following afternoon, however, Ruth has accepted the ghost as real. Not wanting to share her home with the ghost of her husband's first wife, Ruth invites Madame Arcati back to the house to exorcise the spirit. Madame Arcati says that she does not think she can. Ruth insists on Madame Arcati getting rid of the ghost since she brought it there. Ruth also inadvertently reveals the true reason why Madame Arcati was invited to dinner, saying Charles want to learn some "tricks of the trade" from her. Insulted by that phrase and feeling she was invited to dinner just to be mocked, Madame Arcati refuses to offer any more help and leaves in a huff.

Amateur actors as Elvira and Charles in a production of Blithe Spirit at Otterbein University, Ohio, USA in 2015.

Elvira puts on the record of "Always", evidently her favorite song, and dances to it. Edith sees this and flees the rom in terror.

Both Charles and Edith suffer minor injures when they both have falls on the same day. The other servants leave after that. Ruth is certain that Charles' and Edith's injures were not accidental. She is convinced Elvira is trying to kill Charles so that they can be together again in the afterlife. Even though she thinks she will have to beg Madame Arcati's forgiveness, Ruth decides she has no choice but to see the medium again and ask her once more to exorcise the ghost. She takes the car to Madame Arcati's house.

When Elvira finds out Ruth has taken the car, she pleads with Charles to stop her. It is too late. Ruth's suspicions were correct. In the hope of killing Charles, Elvira tampered with the car. Charles receives a telephone call telling him his wife haw died in a car accident. The unseen ghost of Ruth then proceeds to attack Elvira.

Act III

Elvira does not like sharing her home with the ghost of Ruth, a ghost that Charles still cannot see or hear. She has also become bored with Charles and tells him about the affairs she had while she was married to him. She wants to go back to the afterlife but is unable to do so.

Madame Arcati goes to see Charles one evening. She announces she has found a spell that should send Elvira back to the afterlife. The spell does not banish Elvira and only succeeds in making Ruth's ghost visible and audible to Charles too.

Amateur actors as Madame Arcati and Edith in a production of Blithe Spirit at Otterbein University, Ohio, USA in 2015.

Madame Arcati spends most of the rest of the night trying various spells to banish both ghosts to no avail. The two ghosts say they are there because Charles called them back, which Charles continues to strenuously deny. Shortly before dawn, Madame Arcati says that, although Charles did not call the ghosts back, somebody else obviously did. Somebody in the house must be psychic. Madame Arcati recites a spell calling on that person, waking or sleeping, to appear. Edith, who had been in bed, comes to the living room door and says she thought she heard the bell or was summoned in some way. Edith reluctantly admits to Madame Arcati that she can see the two ghosts. Madame Arcati hypnotizes Edith. Edith sings "Always" badly and both ghosts disappear.

When Edith comes out of her hypnotic trance, she has no memory of what has happened. She is confused when she is told to go back to bed, even though it is now daylight. She is even more confused when Charles gives her money, and obviously horrified by he thought he is paying her for some kind of sexual favor she has performed.

Madame Arcati tells Charles that, although he can no longer see or hear the ghosts, she senses they have not completely gone. She advises Charles to leave immediately and go far away. Charles tells the two now unseen ghosts that he is leaving. He tells Elvira she was not thee only one who had affairs during their marriage. He tells Ruth that although he was faithful to her, he probably would not have remained so for much longer. The two ghosts become angry at Charles' words and start to destroy objects in the living room. Charles tells Elvira and Ruth that although he will inevitably see them again one day, for the present, he is glad to be free of them. Before he goes, Charles sarcastically quotes Romeo and Juliet by saying, "Parting is such sweet sorrow." After he has gone, the two unseen ghosts continue to destroy the living room.

Cast

Original West End cast

• Charles - Cecil Parker
• Ruth - Fay Compton
• Elvira - Kay Hammond
• Madame Arcati - Margaret Rutherford
• Dr. Bradman - Martin Lewis
• Mrs. Bradman - Moya Nugent
• Edith - Ruth Reeves

Original Broadway cast

• Charles - Clifton Webb
• Ruth - Peggy Wood
• Elvira - Leonora Corbett
• Madame Arcati - Mildred Natwick
• Dr. Bradman - Philip Tonge
• Mrs. Bradman - Phyllis Joyce
• Edith - Jacqueline Clarke

Adaptations

Poster for the 1945 film's theatrical release.

Blithe Spirit was adapted as the 1945 British film of the same name. The film was directed by David Lean. It stars Rex Harrison as Charles, Constance Cummings as Ruth, Kay Hammond as Elvira and Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati. Both Kay Hammond and Margaret Rutherford reprise the roles they originated on stage. The screen adaptation does not differ much from the stage original. The setting, however, is somewhat expanded beyond the Condomines' living room to other locations in and around their house and the nearby village, including Madame Arcati's cottage. The film memorably ends with Charles driving away from his still haunted house, having a fatal car accident offscreen and then joining Ruth and Elvira as a third ghost. Noël Coward detested the ending and believed that it ruined his story. Blithe Spirit won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Although the film was generally well received by critics on its release and is now considered a classic, it did not perform well at the box office in either the United Kingdom or the United States.

The play was adapted again for the cinema as the 2020 British film Blithe Spirit. The film was directed by Edward Hall. It stars Dan Stevens as Charles, Isla Fisher as Ruth, Leslie Mann as Elvira and Judi Dench as Madame Arcati. The film has received largely negative reviews.

Noël Coward in 1972.

The first American TV adaptation of Blithe Spirit was produced by WNBT, New York and aired on May 12, 1946. The play was adapted again as an episode of Ford Star Jubilee that first aired on CBS on January 14, 1956. Noël Coward himself directed the 1956 adaptation and appears in it as Charles. A third American television adaptation of Blithe Spirit, starring Dirk Bogarde as Charles, was first shown on NBC as an episode of Hallmark Hall of Fame on December 7, 1966. British television adaptations of Blithe Spirit first aired on the BBC on November 16, 1948 and on the commercial ITV network on August 17, 1964.

Blithe Spirit was adapted as an episode of the American radio series Theater Guild on the Air, that was first broadcast on CBS on February 23, 1947, and as an episode of the American radio series Best Plays, that was first broadcast on NBC on August 31, 1952. British radio adaptations of Blithe Spirit were first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on December 27, 1983, December 7, 2008 and December 29, 2014.

The Americans Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray adapted Blithe Spirit as the musical High Spirits. The adaptation is a faithful one, although it greatly expands the role of Madame Arcati to the point where she becomes the main character. High Spirits opened at the Alvin Theater on Broadway on April 7, 1964. It ran for 375 performances and 14 previews. The original Broadway cast included Edward Woodward as Charles, Louise Troy as Ruth, Tammy Grimes as Elvira and Beatrice Lille as Madame Arcati. Noël Coward himself directed the musical for its original run both on Broadway and in London's West End.

A novelization of Blithe Spirit by the Australian author Charles Osborne was published in 2004.