Blithe Spirit

Malanda Theatre Company's production of NoëlCoward's classic play Blithe Spirit was all about ghosts and the supernatural. Can a spirit be contacted via a séance? In this play it could. The plot revolved around writer Charles Condomine who invites Madame Arcati over to conduct a séance so that he can gather material for a future book. However, Madame Arcati inadvertently contacts the ghost of Charles's first wife Elvira, who then proceeds to torment his current wife, Ruth. Charles can see his ghostly first wife, but Ruth can't see nor hear her.

The cast were all suitably costumed for this late 1930s comedy. Jim Hill, in the lead role of Charles, brilliantly portrayed a confused man plagued by two wives. Jo-Anne Dittman as Ruth played the tricky role as a person caught between a ghost and a husband who talks to thin air. Deb Bass as the ghost floated beautifully around the stage and really made the role her own as she caused mischief and mayhem. Lioni Wilkinson as Edith the maid made the most of her short appearances with some well-timed comedy entrances. Mervena Watson was superb as Madame Arcati. Her facial expressions and warm-up routine before the séance were quite comical. Her costume was also 'out of this world.'  Jake Skukan as Dr Bradman and Mikayla Dilena as his overly chatty wife were excellent in strong supporting roles.

The best moment of the play was the séance scene in which Madame Arcati weaved her magic and Elvira appeared. Fun stuff. The play had a supernatural twist at the end, with a  shattering finale that literally brought the house down.

Ken Cotterill

Photo (from L to R): Mikayla Dilena, Jim Hill, Lioni Wilkinson, Mervena Watson, Jo-Ann Dittman, Deb Bass and Jake Skukan