Friday 13 September 2013

Stratford Festival 2013 # 3: Rarely Comest Thou, Spirit of Delight!

Two posts on two days in a row because I was shamefully late in posting my remarks about Taking Shakespeare but am now right on time with my thoughts about Blithe Spirit, Noel Coward's evergreen comedy classic, which I saw this afternoon.

Of the Noel Coward plays which I have seen, I would rate this as the best.  To be sure, the script is overly wordy in places, but that matters less than the excellence of the surprises which Coward unveils one by one.  I had the privilege of attending this show (a very old and dear friend of mine) with three people who had never seen it and so had no idea what to expect.  All three agreed that the surprising and totally unpredictable twists and turns held their interest from start to finish.  All the comic business didn't do any harm either! 

That was a good reminder for me that, like any good murder mystery, this really is (at one level) a classic whodunit reflected in a comic mirror.  The social satire in this play deals with the universal arena of marital relations, and that helps give it a timeless appeal.  Since the playwright quickly disposes of the idea that Madame Arcati (the medium) is nothing but a fraud, we readily accept the reality driving the piece, which is that a ghostly spirit world does exist, and can spill over into our everyday lives in ways we might not appreciate.

It was a real joy to see a comic play staged in a way that invited us fully into the reality of the story, instead of putting us off by having actors who signal the audience when to laugh with various gestures and grimaces.  Director Brian Bedford did a splendid job of harnessing his cast to prevent this kind of lapse, so much so that it's almost frightening to remember how much telegraphing-for-laughs he indulged in a few years ago when he played Lady Bracknell!

The set, created by designer Simon Higlett, evoked the comfortable upper middle class life of the Condomines beautifully, and gave ample room to move when the action got increasingly frantic as the play moved along.  The set also made a splendid contribution to the final moments in several unusual and very eye-catching ways.

Once again, Stratford indulged in Cadillac casting, a sure sign of the strength that now exists at all levels of this company.  Ben Carlson played Charles Condomine more naturally, and freer from affectation, than any other actor I have ever seen in the role.  I particularly appreciated his crisp diction, as every line travelled clearly to the back of the theatre where I was seated.

Sara Topham was splendid as Ruth, Charles's wife.  Her finest moment was the icy self-control which she exhibited during the famous breakfast scene, one of the politest arguments ever staged in any theatre anywhere.  It's a tough role.  You can't imagine any person keeping much self-control when confronted with the situation Ruth experiences, but if the actor in the role goes too far too fast then she has nowhere left to go as the situation continues to escalate.  Topham handled this challenge well, and although I felt she had gone a bit too far in Act 1 she still had ample reserves for Acts 2 and 3!

Michelle Giroux underplayed the ghostly Elvira beautifully.  She struck all the right notes without ever over-playing her hand, and that made her collapse at the end of Act 2 all the more gripping and startling. 

Madame Arcati must be one of the most daunting roles in the English-speaking comic theatre.  It's almost like the female comic counterpart of Hamlet, since it seems as if every great comic leading lady you can think of has "had a go" at one time or another!  So, this brings us to Seana McKenna, definitely a leading lady of the Stratford company.  Her Madame Arcati was distinctive -- rough-edged, almost masculine in tone, very emphatic in her movements.  Certainly I've never seen the part played that way before, and she made out a good case for it.  It didn't entirely win me over, but you know that this is just one person's opinion.  And she certainly played the hypnotism scene very quietly and intensely -- likewise, the final scene of the play.

James Blendick (a long-serving Stratford veteran) and Wendy Thatcher (a Stratford newcomer) did all they could with the ungrateful roles of Dr. and Mrs. Bradman.  Thatcher, in her second scene, created almost the only stereotype of the entire show -- a giddy "dumb blonde" if ever there was one.  But since the role is written that way, it's hard to avoid and she did keep the character likable.

Susie Burnett was very effective as the maid, Edith.  She handled the comic business of running and too obviously not-running with aplomb.  I was most impressed at the distinct change that came over her, the note of malicious mischief that came into her voice, in the hypnosis scene.  I've never heard or seen anything so strong made of it, but the hint is unmistakably there in the script and she certainly made it work, in spades!

In sum: this was probably the strongest stage production of Blithe Spirit that I have ever seen, and I was gratified to notice that it still makes me laugh just as hard as the very first time I stepped into the Condomines' home way back in the 1970s.  A lot of other comedies have worn thin on me during that time, but this one is a perennial delight and Stratford's production deserves all the generous accolades it has won.

2 comments:

  1. I quite like that adjective evergreen - and that's nice when already strong material receives top notch treatment!

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  2. It's rare for either Stratford or Shaw Festivals to stage a truly bad show but I certainly notice when they come so close to the central bulls-eye, and that doesn't always happen either.

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