Blithe Spirit (Methuen Modern Plays) [Paperback]

Noël Coward (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0413771970 | ISBN-13: 978-0413771971 | Publication Date: June 20, 2002

"I will ever be grateful for the almost psychic gift that enabled me to write Blithe Spirit in five days during one of the darkest years of the war."-Noel Coward. 

Written in 1941, Blithe Spirit remained the longest-running comedy in British Theatre for three decades. Plotted around the central role of one of Coward's best loved characters, a spirit medium Madame Arcati (originally performed by Margaret Rutherford) Coward's play is an escapist comedy about a man whose two previous wives return to haunt him.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A minor comic masterpiece of the lighter sort"-Professor Allardyce Nicoll

About the Author

Noel Coward made his name as a playwright with The Vortex (1924), in which he also appeared. His numerous other successful plays included Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, and Blithe Spirit. During the war he wrote screenplays such as Brief Encounter (1944) and This Happy Breed (1942). His volumes of verse, autobiography and letters have all been published to acclaim by Methuen Drama. Coward was knighted in 1970 and died three years later in Jamaica.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Methuen Drama (June 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0413771970
• ISBN-13: 978-0413771971
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of laughs., April 27, 2000

By 

Christopher M. Theisen (Rhode Island, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blithe Spirit - starring Shirley Knight, Ian Ogilvy, Judy Geeson, Rosalind Ayres (Audio Theatre Series) (Audio Cassette)

The performances are top-notch in this hilarious British comedy. When the ghost of a dead wife is unleashed on his household by a wacky clairvoyant a man must struggle to meet the demands of all wives, both dead and alive. Noel Coward's comedy is fill with plenty of laughs. The sound quality of this cassette is excellent. If you like books on tape you should try all that L.A. Theatre Works has to offer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Noel Coward's masterpiece, January 12, 2002

By 

Ventura Angelo (Brescia, Lombardia Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blithe Spirit (L.A. Theatre Works Audio Theatre Collection) (Audio CD)

One can't help but laugh from beginning to end.Yet the argument is very sombre,and could have been the argument of the most grim drama of a German playwriter. It's the wit of Coward, his genius of combining the petty ridiculous whit the dramatic that makes this drama just perfect.Coward's practical views on the supernatural are absolutely irresistible. A must for the occult believer and for the skeptic as well!

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect!, February 14, 2007

By 

S. J. Mitchell (Surrey, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blithe Spirit (L.A. Theatre Works Audio Theatre Collection) (Audio CD)

Edit: My review refers to the L.A. Theaterworks production.

I've seen many productions of this play on film, stage and radio and this is, far and away, the best production ever. A different, more English tone takes this production a million miles away from the well known film version and, charming though Rex Harrison et al are, this is all the better for being different.

Ian Ogilvy shines as the misogynistic Charles who carries a torch for his first wife despite his best efforts. Rosalind Ayres is fine as the slighted Ruth, playing it with a wonderful, indignant tone. But the undisputed star of the show is Judy Geeson who plays the mischevious Elvira with such wonderful drawling tones it's a delight to listen to her. I only wish we heard the word 'beastly' more in conversation!

Of my many audio books, this is absolutely my favourite but wonderful as it is, I'm just sorry that this was radio and not stage or screen. What a fabulous production it would have been.