Blithe Spirit

The Beverley Theatre Company will be staging their first production of the 2011/12 season when they perform the farce, ‘Blithe Spirit’, at the Memorial Hall, Lairgate, Beverley, from Wednesday, 9-12 November at 7.30pm.

The play, written by Noel Coward, was first performed in the 1940’s and centres around the aftermath of a dinner party at which the host arranges a séance for entertainment and to provide research for his new book. However, he gets a bit more than he bargained for as the evening has a surprising and chaotic outcome.

First staged in 1941 at the Opera House in Manchester, this comedy is billed as ‘an improbable farce’ in which the central characters hold a séance that unleashes a plot full of laughs and surprises. The story centres on Charles Condomine, played by Anthony Musgrave in his first role with the Beverley Theatre Company. Charles is a writer who holds a dinner party for his friends Dr Bradman and his wife, as well as the eccentric local clairvoyant Madame Arcati, played by Kate Henderson, from whom he hopes to pick up a few tricks for his new book. Charles believes that Madame Arcati is a harmless fraud, but that he will get a few good stories along the way. However, to his shock, the medium is better at her work than he had bargained for and the Condomine’s house soon has another visitor much to the annoyance of Charles’ second wife Ruth, played by Pamela Day. Chris Dunnachie and Helen Wild play the Bradmans whilst Charles’ first wife Elvira is played by Yvonne Parkinson.