ABOUT
THE PLAY
When England was being ravaged by war
in 1941, Noel Coward sat down at his typewriter and, between May 5 and
May 9, wrote the comedy Blithe Spirit. In a letter to John C. Wilson,
who produced the play a few weeks later, Coward explained why he had chosen
to write what he called "an impossible farce' during such a dark moment
'in his nation's history. "I have not written it to lighten Britain's
war gloom with laughter," he commented. "Our country is already full
of laughter. It isn't merely gallantry in putting on a brave face;
it's very real and 'infinitely stimulating. Realizing that this particular
feeling was more important than anything else, I decided to write a comedy."
Blithe Spirit, indeed, is a marvelous
comedy for the brittle, breakneck witticisms and refined buffoonery for
which Coward is rightly celebrated. Because Blithe Spirit is a cocktail
comedy that turns itself into a good-humored ghost story, we have tried
to introduce a mysterious spiritual world by shutting off the lights sometimes,
changing shades of gray to pale blue, green, rose with the shift of the
mood. As Madame Arcati says in the play that "nothing has ever been
definitely proved about anything" in this world, a lot of things that happened
around us we may not understand or explain with our reason. People
are apt to brush aside something they do not understand or reject anything
supernatural. But in the universe there is still the unknown and
unseen realm for us to explore.
The characters 'in the play are
interesting and idiosyncratic. Charles (Kevin) has to face the worse-nightmare-come-true
hovering behind him as his two wives bitterly wrangle about everything
that he does (or doesn't) do. Ruth (Eliza) gets a bad deal (read:
death) and makes the best of it with forced equanimity. Elvira (Belinda)
is a shallow, sexy, bitchy little delight, a woman who died while laughing
at a radio show. And Madame Arcati (Julia), as deep and none too
silly, is someone you could probably get aromatherapy advice from today.
Even Edith (Joanne), mischievous and funny, who places one foot carefully
in front of another while walking, unwittingly invokes the ghosts and causes
all the trouble.
As Coward states, Blithe Spirit
is an "impossible" comedy, in which things are supposed to fly to and fro,
window/door opening and closing suddenly, and spirit(s) floating 'in and
out 'intermittently. We have tried to work lights and sound effect
together to create the right effect, so that the spirit can remain blithe
through three acts. We had great fun 'in our numerous play practices
and rehearsals, so hopefully we can conjure a Spiritit truly worth haunting
tonight.
Enjoy!
Cecilia H C Liu
Faculty Advisor