Blithe Spirit: Afterlife
In Part 1 of our Blithe Spirit 80th Anniversary series, Hail to Thee, Blithe Spirit! we explored the original run of Blithe Spirit and this time we’re looking at some of the major productions and adaptations since Coward first gave it life. Perhaps the title is misleading - it’s a tortuous metaphor, especially since Blithe Spirit’s popularity never seems to die. Perhaps it should be ‘reincarnations’, but there’s no evidence Madame Arcati subscribed to that belief so ‘afterlife’ will have to do!
Anyway, we left Blithe Spirit in the 1940s touring to entertain the provinces and the troops. Today we’re delving into the archives to find some of those important revivals and adaptations which have kept the spirit of Blithe alive.
Theatre
We start with the 1976 production at the National Theatre in London, directed by Harold Pinter. Barry Day recalls his approach in The Noël Coward Reader:
“Years later Harold Pinter, directing a revival for London’s National Theatre, warned his cast from the outset that although Noël may have dubbed it “an improbable farce,” he personally considered it to be neither improbable or a farce”.
This year, 45 years on, the production starring Jennifer Saunders will open at the theatre that now bears Harold Pinter’s name. Tickets are available here.
The 1980s saw major production on both sides of the Atlantic, both with actors who mad their names on TV. Simon Cadell, Jane Asher, Joanna Lumley and Marcia Warren received very good reviews in the West End while Richard Chamberlain and Rosemary Harris headed a Broadway revival at the Neil Simon Theatre. The production was noted for its actors’ more ‘naturalistic’ and modern delivery.
The UK has continued to see a steady stream of revivals featuring popular ‘character actors’ of the day in the leading roles. The starriest international production of recent years is undoubtedly the Broadway (and later West End) production starring an octogenarian Angela Lansbury to great acclaim. Charles was played by Rupert Everett (on Broadway) and Charles Edwards (West End).
BALLET
Programme for ‘Sigh No More’ (author’s own collection)
In 1946, Coward’s Revue Sigh No More included a short ballet adaptation of Blithe Spirit, with music by Richard Addinsell and choreography by Wendy Toye. The production’s Musical Director was Mantovani and performers elsewhere in the revue included Joyce Grenfell and Graham Payn who found himself at:
“The beginning of a personal and professional relationship between Noël and myself that would last until his death”.
Addinsell is probably best remembered for his Warsaw Concerto, but had a long career working in revues, including very successfully with Joyce Grenfell. He also wrote the music to the original film of Blithe Spirit, on which his ballet music was based. Wendy Toye had a long career as a choreographer and director in film and theatre, including the original 1946 production of Bless The Bride (produced by impresario Charles B. Cochran) and co-devising Cowardy Custard.
MUSICAL
Almost completely forgotten now is the 1964 musical adaptation retitled High Spirits. Written by Timothy Gray and Hugh Martin, they remained fairly faithful to the original, although it included a typical Broadway-style ensemble and an expanded role for Madame Arcati.
Originally called ‘Faster Than Sound’, High Spirits opened at the Shubert Theatre, New Haven before runs in Boston and Philadelphia before settling in to the Alvin Theatre, New York for 375 performances. A West End production with Cicely Courtneidge opened in the November but was not well-received, lasting only 93 performances.
When the writers performed their original draft to Coward, he thought it was:
“Quite brilliant. The music is melodic and delightful, the lyrics really witty and they have done a complete book outline keeping to my original play and yet making it effective as a musical. I am not only relieved but delighted."
Coward agreed to direct (and would be supported by Gower Champion). His original hopes of casting Keith Michell as Charles, Gwen Verdon as Elvira, Celeste Holm as Ruth, and Kay Thompson as Madame Arcati were never realised. In the end, The cast featured Edward Woodward, Tammy Grimes, Louise Troy and old friend Beatrice Lillie receiving top billing as Madame Arcati. A young Christopher Walken (billed as Ronnie Walken) was in the chorus.
Recordings were made of both productions and make fascinating listening (try Bea Lillie arrival in The Bicycle Song in the clip above), even if the show is unlikely to receive a major revival any time soon.
TV, Film & Radio
Cartoon of the CBS TV cast (Geoffrey Johnson Collection, NCAT)
TV companies were quick to see the potential of Blithe Spirit, with broadcasts in the US (1946) and UK (1948). Coward himself directed a production in which he also starred, alongside Lauren Bacall as Elvira in 1956. For more about that production, see PART 1 of this series. A later production in 1966 starred Dirk Bogarde. Often forgotten is the 1964 ITV production starring Hattie Jacques, but UK audiences wouldn’t see a new production on television until the release of the 2021 film (which couldn’t open in cinemas due to the Coronavirus pandemic).
Bastion of audio drama, Radio 4 have broadcast adaptations starring, as Charles/Arcati, Paul Eddington/Peggy Mount (1983) and Roger Allam/Maggie Steed (2008). Even the long-running drama The Archers included an adaptation with the popular characters playing the parts
Novel
In 2004, the Australian writer and journalist Charles Osborne adapted the play into a novel. He had had much success adapting several Agatha Christie plays as well as Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
Art & Design
Blithe Spirit is a play that demands a skilled designer and make-up artist. Coward described Elvira’s make up in the original production in the following way:
“dead white makeup with a little green in it, green powder on face, hair and arms, scarlet lips and nails and ordinary green eye make-up.”
Subsequent productions have approached the make-up and costumes of Elvira in different ways (see the silvery-blue make-up for current West End production or the much more ‘alive’ approach taken by the 2021 film).
In Arcati… Always, we take a closer look at the the inspirations behind the role of Madame Arcati.
Blithe Spirit unsurprisingly features heavily in the Noël Coward: Art & Style exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery. For more, read Blithe Spirit: The Next 80 Years.
