Welcome to Blithe Spirit!
Noel Coward wrote this piece in 1941, when England was at war with Germany. The Blitzkrieg was destroying parts of London nightly, including Coward’s own office and apartment. In writing this play, his aim was to raise morale of his fellow Brits and just make them laugh. Because people were separated by war, loss, or safety needs, he chose to use the supernatural in a comedic way. During WW2, Many people who had lost loved ones in the war were turning to spiritualism to try to contact them, and Madame Arcati’s antics put such actions in the context of the believable, if not the commonplace.
I can see a lot of parallels between Coward’s London and COVID 19. We can all agree that the last few years have been abnormal. We’ve been separated from each other and some of us have lost loved ones. A comedic take on a serious time in place seemed the right choice for this time. It’s time to laugh and remember what it is like to be alive. Even if it’s through death.
If the theatre is anything, it’s resilient.
