Written
by Noel Coward
Directed
by Lachlan Houen
Canberra
REP production
Canberra
REP Theatre, Acton to May 17
Reviewed
by Len Power 2 May 2025
Directors who try to put their own stamp on a Noel Coward
play need to tread warily. Canberra REP’s new production ‘draws on classic and
contemporary styles’, according to the flyer provided instead of a program.
Coward wrote Blithe Spirit, his most popular play at the
time, in 1941. Described by Coward himself as ‘an improbable farce’, a séance arranged
by a writer for background material for a novel he is writing, results in the unexpected
return of the ghost of a former wife. Her continuing presence causes major
difficulties as the writer has since remarried.
This production starts with pounding disco-era music before
being changed on a 1950s radiogram by the maid, Edith, to something more
suitable to the 1950s, the era in which the play appears to be set. This period
works fine for the play and the cast are dressed in the style of the day.
As Charles Condomine, the writer, Peter Holland gives a fine
performance of style, wit and comic timing. Elaine Noone is a hilariously
eccentric Madam Arcati, the medium and clairvoyant. Her costume by designer,
Suzan Cooper, is a beauty.
 |
| Alex McPherson (Ruth), Peter Holland (Charles Condomine), Winsome Ogilvie (Elvira) |
By playing it straight, the performances of Alex McPherson
as the current wife, Ruth, and Winsome Ogilvie as the ghost of former wife,
Elvira, lack the style and manner necessary for this farce to really work. This
is particularly noticeable in the long argument scenes that should be very
funny but just seem heavy and tedious.
Liv Boddington as the maid, Edith, gives a nice performance
but some of the physical action given to her is distracting. Having her
suddenly appear at the side of the stage on a modern exercise bike takes your
attention away from an important discussion between Charles and Ruth about
Charles’s former wife, Elvira. There is
also a suggestion that Edith has magical powers, too, which is another
distraction in a production full of them.
For example, if Ruth is horrified by the sight of a vase of
flowers apparently moving by itself, why didn’t she notice the magazine’s pages
turning when Elvira was reading it a few moments before?
Elaine Noone has to struggle on and offstage with a bicycle unnecessarily,
the radiogram plays only small amounts of the song, ‘Always’ and abruptly stops
but no-one is seen turning it off. The grandfather clock in the hallway wobbles
alarmingly when people walk past it and the set, designed by Andrew Kay and
Michael Sparks, is a jarring mix of classic and contemporary styles.
In addition, the long dialogue scenes between characters in
this production are too static. You are often looking at the backs of players’
heads for far too long.
If the use of contemporary music was an attempt to make this
play more relevant to today, it became just another distraction. An opportunity
to see a Noel Coward play is usually very welcome but this production is a
disappointment.
Photo by Eve Murray
This
review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 3 May 2025.
Len
Power’s reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and
‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog ‘Just Power Writing’ at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.
