Noël Coward's 'Blithe Spirit' Makes the Stratford Shakespeare Festival Very VERY Funny

Yesterday marked Stratford trip two of six for the Walker clan. Even though we got in this season a bit late, Stratford never fails to provide us with an amazing day filled with a show, food and stunning change of scenery. And what a show we saw. Only our second comedy (following our trip to see 'The Matchmaker' just last year) and having read no Noël Coward works prior to Blithe Spirit, we didn't know what to expect. But as always, the actors of Stratford Shakespeare Festival gave amazing performances in the very theater we saw our first Stratford production in four years ago.

A fantastic comedy written in five days, Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit is a funny yet sophisticated comedy that tells the story of Charles, a wealthy man who has recently remarried. A novelist looking for incite , Charles and his new wife Ruth invite the town medium, Madame Arcati, to preform some "tricks" to be used in his latest novel about a suicidal fortune-teller. Excited but unaware of her mockery, Madame Arcati arrives at the house to perform a seance and while getting in touch with the other side discovers that someone there wants to speak with Charles. But when nothing happens and Madame Arcati leaves Charles first wife Elvira, who has been dead for seven years, suddenly appears. Only seen and heard by Charles, he must discover why and by whom Elvira was called back without losing the love and sanity of his new wife Ruth and the long lasting affections of Elvira.

It's not a secret that many actors in Stratford do two shows a season. Charles (Ben Carlson), Madame Arcati (Seana McKena), Dr. Bradman (James Blendick) and Edith (Susie Burnett) also star in the intense drama Mary Stuart, while Ruth (Sara Topham) stars as Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Elvira (Michelle Giroux) plays Portia in The Merchant of Venice. The casting of Blithe Spirit was spot on and couldn't have been better. We had seen Carlson, McKena and Topham is various shows before but had never seen a Stratford production with Michelle Giroux, one of my favorite actors in the entire production. From her absolutely gorgeous costume to the tone and inflection of her voice, she completely captured the spirit of Elvira and was a perfect opposite to Carlson. Likewise, Topham greatly captured the insanity and aggressiveness of Ruth as she tries to comprehend the situations she finds herself in. For a comedy with such sophisticated speech, Blithe Spirit gave audience members many good laughs and a look at some very sticky situations.

Blithe Spirit was truly entertaining and I would see over again in a heartbeat. Everything about it was wonderful and well-done, leaving us thankful to have seen it and hungry to see The Three Musketeers, Waiting for Godot, Mary Stuart and Othello in the next few weeks.  

 Clip One:
Elvira (Michelle Giroux) and Charles (Ben Carlson) speak for the first time

 

Clip Two:

Ruth (Sara Topham) tries to explain the situation that occurred following Madame Arcati's (Seana McKenna) "tricks" the other night

For stage photos of this production, visit 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stratfest/sets/72157633814502820/

For more information about the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, visit 

http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/Default.aspx

**Look out for future blogs/reviews on Stratford productions**