What if the spirit of your late wife is only visible to you? And you expect your new wife to live with you and this spirit? This is the premise behind Theatre Calgary’s production of Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit, and it’s a testament to the production and to Coward’s work that the audience can not only find this concept amusing, but not really think about the morality of the conundrum. Director Nikki Loach has thought of all the elements needed to depict the challenges and comedy on stage, and there is much talent here to pull it all off.
The play tells of Charles (Tyrell Crews), an author who is interested in doing research for his newest novel on mediums and the spiritual world. He and his wife Ruth (Louise Duff) have invited their friends Dr. Bradman (Christopher Hunt) and Mrs. Bradman (Meg Farhall) for dinner. Also invited is a medium, Madame Arcati (Corrine Koslo), whom he has invited to do a séance after dinner. She unknowingly brings the ghost of Charles’ late wife Elvira (Emily Howard) into the house, and she is only visible to Charles. Elvira causes all sorts of trouble and plots to kill Charles so that they can live together forever in the afterlife. The cast is rounded out by the maid Edith (Ali DeRegh), and the players on stage create a farcical atmosphere so that the audience can have some fun.
All of the characters do an amazing job of ignoring artists on stage that are spirits and reacting authentically when a vase seems to move by itself. Crews, as Charles, is a great blend of comical and serious, and is so believable when getting carried away. Duff is also wonderfully balanced as Ruth, being incredibly distraught about Elvira without being hysterical. Koslo as Madame Arcati steals the entire show with her physical comedy. She is so funny and eccentric without being over the top. She is one of the brightest lights in the show, along with DeRegh as Edith. DeRegh often moves in front of the curtain during set change in some comic manner, whether she is carrying folded towels and drops them all, or has a duster that makes her sneeze. These sequences further permeate the overall tone of comedy.
Costume design by Ralamy Kneeshaw really allows the spirits to look like ghosts, dressed in the same sort of clothing as most of the characters, but completely in white. Madame Arcati is in eccentric clothing in comparison to the elegant and sophisticated dresses and suits of the others. Scott Reid’s set design gives us an idea of the enormity of the house but manages to convey how the space of the living room can feel a bit confined, while Narda McCarroll’s lighting design and Alixandra Cowman’s sound design allow the narrative to keep a comedic air throughout.
Theatre Calgary’s production of Blithe Spirit is this compelling blend of serious and comedic. It’s a great getaway, a good way to unplug for an evening.
You have until April 13th to see Blithe Spirit. More information is available online.
Photo: (l to r) Tyrell Crews (Charles), Emily Howard (Elvira), Ali DeRegt (Edith), Corrine Koslo (Madame Arcati) in Blithe Spirit at Theatre Calgary. Photo: Trudie Lee.