BILL BRAY writes ...
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Noel Coward along with many other optimists, thought that it would all be over in a couple of months at most. Wars always seem to provoke this sort of daft optimism and usually take much longer to sort out. He vowed that he would not write another play until hostilities had ceased. Two years later, and with the war prospects getting gloomier all the time, Coward took up his pen again.
It was in Portmeirion, the mock-Italian village in North Wales, that he sat down to write Blithe Spirit and, six days of solid writing later, it was complete. It was so complete that it needed no revision and, Coward claimed, that only two lines were cut from that original and final draft.
Coward always wrote fast but he had had two years to write it in his head before committing it to his typewriter. His original concept, however, changed during those six days because Madame Arcati, the medium, had been a small part conceived for his writer friend, Clemence Dane, who had expressed a desire to act a little. As Madame Arcati developed in the play, she became a much more central and pivotal character to the comedy and too important to be in the hands of a theatrical dilettante who had written plays but had little experience of acting.
The play was put into immediate rehearsal in London and, almost simultaneously, had a parallel production in New York. Cecil Parker played the lead in London, although Coward himself took over when Parker took a holiday in the run of 2000 performances. The part of Madame Arcati went, in London, to Margaret Rutherford while the ghost of Elvira was played by the glamorous light comedienne, Kay Hammond. They both re-created their parts in the David Lean film version. The only dissenting voice in the acclaim at the first night was from a lady in the dress circle, who indignantly declared that it was rubbish, an affront to spiritualists and should be taken off immediately. The spirits, however, could do nothing to stop the success of this light, bright comedy in the darkest days of the war.
Our production is directed by John Wilson and, by one of those surprising coincidences, in 1941 the play was co-produced by H.M.Tennent in London and the John C.Wilson management in New York. Coward directed in London and John Wilson directed in New York, although Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne turned it down, and it opened with Clifton Webb, Peggy Wood and Mildred Natwick as Madame Arcati. She won the American Drama Critics award for her performance and Noel turned down a New York radio station's request for permission to use the character of Elvira as heroine of a new radio soap planned for several years with Janet Gaynor in the lead. He cabled: "In No Circumstances Whatsoever. Suggest They Get Shaw's Permission to Use St Joan". John Wilson's production ran on Broadway for 18 months. Our John Wilson's production will have a strictly limited engagement of eight performances at the GWT but promises to be as much of a hit!
JOHN WILSON writes ...
In the spring of 1941 Noel Coward arrived back in the UK from the USA, intent on writing a new comedy. Together with his friend, the actress Joyce Carey (who played Dr Bradman's wife in David Lean's 1945 film adaptation of Blithe Spirit), who was also involved in a writing project at the time, he travelled to Portmeirion in Wales where he could write in peace.
Commenting in his autobiography Future Indefinite, on writing the play in less than a week, Coward says: "I am aware from past experience that when the right note is struck and the structure of the play carefully built in advance, it is both wise and profitable to start at the beginning and write through to the end in as short a time as possible."
Following a tour in June 1941 Blithe Spirit opened in London's Piccadilly Theatre in July, later transferring to the St James' and the Duchess, running in all for 1997 performances. It is currently enjoying a revival at the Savoy , but the Whitworth is closer to home.
The strong cast I have assembled includes Gerald Bishop, Angela Brignell, Vanessa Coatz. Eileen Brookes, Maurice Tripp, Tricia Sutton and Helen Carter.
Book early to avoid disappointment and come and see one of Coward's finest. |