Director Hannah Ellis Ryan of Her Productions illuminated Hope Mill Theatre with her production of Blithe Spirit. Ellis Ryan has had some fabulous successes in her previous direction of ‘Vignettes’ and ‘Taming of the Shrew’ at Hope Mill, so I was thrilled to be asked to review her latest masterpiece.
Blithe Spirit is a High-Spirited Comedy by the Masterful Noël Coward, the play was first seen in the West End in 1941 and ran for 1,997 performances, which was 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.
The plot relates to Charles Condomine (Peter Stone) a novelist, and his wife Ruth (Ntombizodwa Ndlovu), who have invited their friends Dr George Bradman (Lucas Cheong Smith) and Mrs Violet Bradman (Laura Littlewood) to join them for drinks and dinner with a local clairvoyant, Madame Arcati (Karen Henthorn). Charles is planning a novel about a homicidal spiritualist and wants to observe the behaviours of Madame Arcati during a séance after dinner. The Bradmans arrive, and the four friends discuss Madame Arcati, and they believe that she will be a harmless fraud. They are interrupted when Madame Arcati arrives, dinner is served by their dutiful maid Edith (Riah Amelle), and then the séance begins. Much to the surprise of the two couples, there are supernatural manifestations, Madame Arcati falls into a trance, and Charles hears the voice of Elvira (Kayleigh Hawkins), his first wife, whom he loved dearly but who died several years ago. Frightened, he wakes Madame Arcati, and the party breaks up, and this is where the fun begins!
The play has a huge amount of comedy, and we see many twists and turns throughout the performance, Stone and Ndlovu provide the stability of the play and delivered a sterling presentation throughout the evening. Cheong Smith and Littlewood both equally achieved a tremendous representation of the characters created by Noel Coward, executing their lines and timely humour to perfection. Hawkins as the devious dead wife portrayed elegance throughout but also pure vengeance on her husband and new wife Ruth with the right amount of greatness as an actress. However, the star of the show is undoubtably the recital of Madame Arcarti by Henthorn, with an accolade of TV and stage Henthorn stole the show for me personally with her unconventional character and vibrance every time she graced the stage. Henthorn’s comedic genius captivated the audience with her fitting outfits and behaviour as she glided through the script and depiction of the eccentric medium and clairvoyant.
Huge credit to Jenny Holt Wright for her set design which characterized the era wonderfully with a grand display of the manor’s living area complete with its gramophone, chaise longue, drinks cabinet and a period piano creating a glorious and versatile stage space for the actors to work with. Equally in the same manner credit goes to Zoey Barnes for her costume design who presented the most elegant and authentic display of garments in its finery.
Blithe Spirit is a classic which has stood the test of time and is just as entertaining as it was in the 1940’s in present day. Ellis Ryan has done a sterling job in bringing this well-crafted play to fruition and for this I applaud her for another success.
Blithe Spirit runs until the 22nd of February 2025, and I recommend you grab a ticket whilst you can as it is selling out fast. Don’t miss the opportunity to see a wholesome robust comedy as you are guaranteed to have a night to remember with both the living and the dead!
Tickets are available at: https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/
Reviewer: Katie Leicester
Reviewed: 13th February 2025
North West End UK Star Rating:
Rating: 4 out of 5.
