BLITHE SPIRIT – Noel Coward
Charles Condomime is an author who has a fancy to write a novel involving a clairvoyant. He and his second wife decide to invite the local clairvoyant to a dinner party in order to glean some useful background information. Dr Bradman and his wife are also invited to make up the numbers. Madame Arcati is a rather extravagant and ebullient character whose efforts at contacting the spirit world have the undesirable effect of bringing back the ghostly form of Charles’ first wife, Elvira. Amid the chaos that follows Charles comes to some harsh but realistic conclusions about his two marriages.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a Noel Coward play set in the mid-1930s and is therefore very stylised in costume, manners and speech. Actors will be required to use Received Pronunciation apart from Edith, perhaps, who may have a more common turn of speech.
CHARACTERISATION:
Charles Condomine: 40ish; he is usually unphased by any circumstance and manages to turn events to his favour. While he wishes to write about a clairvoyant, he is rather sceptical of the whole process. He begins to believe in Madame Arcati’s abilities with the appearance of his first wife. While on the surface, he appears to be happily married to Ruth he comes to feel like a trapped animal and begins to resent his increasingly domineering new wife.
Ruth Condomine: 30-4; she is a practical and blunt person – to the point of rudeness. However, she is an impeccable English hostess and a bit of a socialite. She can be a bit stuffy and predictable and does not support her husband when he says he has seen Elvira. In fact, she accuses him of being drunk and continues to hector him to the end of the play.
Elvira: 40ish; she is a will-o-the-wisp character who died far too young. She is passionate, carefree, fun and a little wild. She is also manipulative and morally questionable. She loves Charles and is jealous of Ruth to the extent that she will sabotage any situation to get her own way. She is very selfish and wants Charles to be with her for all eternity and she is prepared to create all sorts of mayhem and even commit murder in order to achieve her ends.
Madame Arcati: 45-65; she is a typical eccentric English woman living in a small village where everyone knows everyone else. She is effusive in manner and very physically robust in that she thinks nothing of cycling long distances. She appears as a figure of fun initially but becomes a source of hope when Charles wants Elvia returned to the spirit world. Though very spiritual, she enjoys the physical world; especially where food is concerned!
Dr Bradman: 50ish; he is the stereotypical village GP whom everyone knows. He is kindly and sometimes a bit of a joker but very boring when discussing his medical research. He is very sceptical where the spiritual world is concerned but he is a solid citizen in contrast to his superficial wife. Rational and common sense personified, he is the immovable object that every ghost story needs.
Mrs Bradman: 50ish; she is a bit of a silly woman, superficial and giggly. Though well-meaning she is very excitable and is fascinated by the prospect of a séance. She is rather naïve and something of a country village gossip.
Edith: 16+ A very inexperienced and nervous maid who wants to do well for her employer. She is naive and simple in her views and spends her time dashing about trying to complete her tasks. She is the comedic figure in the play but has discovered a surprising talent by the end of it.
Audition Date
January 26th 10.00 – 1.00 pm – Pease attend from 10am
If you cannot make it we can arrange another day
Show dates:
May 8th – 10th