Canberra REP has transitioned to digital programs, phasing out our colour printed A5 booklets at the end of Season 2024.
Please note that the complimentary flyer is designed as a Play Bill - more information is available below.
BLITHE SPIRIT
by Noël Coward
director Lachlan Houen
An Amateur Production By Arrangement with ORIGIN (TM) Theatrical, on behalf of Samuel French Inc. - A Concord Theatricals Company
CAST • CREATIVES • PRODUCTION • TEAMS • DONORS | SUPPORTERS
SYNOPSIS
An improbable farce.
As research for his latest novel, sceptic Charles Condomine invites a self-proclaimed medium, Madame Arcati to conduct a seance. When she accidentally conjures up the spirit of his first wife Elvira, he doesn't stand a ghost of a chance against Elvira's determination to wreck his current marriage. Through supernatural shenanigans she creates merry mayhem for all!
Drawing on classic and contemporary styles, REP's 2025 production of Blithe Spirit is guaranteed to be farcical fun for all involved!
SETTING
The Condomine’s country house, in Kent, in summer.
RUN TIME
2 hr 30 min. incl. 20 min interval
Bar service available up to 5 minutes before start of ACT 1, during interval & after the performance
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
In every REP season, it feels vitally necessary to have an absolutely ridiculous, laugh-a-minute comedy. 2024 gave us Bloody Murder, 2023 brought The Complete Works of William Shakespeare—this year, Blithe Spirit seeks to deliver the same.
With its deliciously witty period comedy, there is a certain unadulterated joy in witnessing the story of Charles Condomine and his wives (past, and current!) in a wild, spiritual entanglement. I knew going into this production that my focus would be to create a shared experience of joy and belly laughs for cast, crew and audiences alike. From the earliest rehearsals, we focused on play—finding just how much fun we could squeeze into a single production. Noël Coward was on to a true winner when he penned this play during World War II to lift the spirits of the British public, and I hope he would be proud of the legacy of frivolity and delight he has created with Blithe Spirit and his body of work.
On a more serious note, it’s no secret that Coward suffered discrimination on the basis of his sexuality through his life; it is well-documented that Winston Churchill dissuaded King George VI from awarding Coward a knighthood in 1942 because of his sexuality, and Coward was never able to acknowledge his identity publicly—not once in his life. As a proud and openly homosexual man, that breaks my heart. While we’ve come so far, we still have a long way to go—particularly in embracing our trans brothers and sisters, and in recognising and celebrating the beautiful spectrum of queer folk in our community.
Naturally, to some extent, I always bring a queer lens to the works I direct—our work is influenced by what we know. With this show, I’ve been blessed with a text that has endless potential for camp, a cast that has been willing to embrace everything I've thrown at them, and a creative team who’ve kept an open mind to even my most unhinged suggestions. This might not be the most ‘traditional’ staging of Blithe Spirit, but it’s the one that feels most true to my interpretation of the wickedly playful world Coward invites us into. He might’ve loved it. He might’ve hated it. Either way, it’s been some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a rehearsal room, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity.
Whether you’re here for the ghostly glamour, the razor-sharp wit, or just to forget the world for a couple of hours, we hope you leave with your spirits well and truly lifted.
Lachlan Houen
PLAYWRIGHT • Noël Coward
Sir Noël Coward (1899–1973) was born in Teddington, south-west London, and grew up in modest circumstances. A precocious performer from childhood, he wrote his first play, The Rat Trap, in 1918, and made his West End debut as both playwright and actor in I’ll Leave it To You (1920). His breakthrough came in 1924 with The Vortex, a provocative drama that shocked audiences and established his reputation.
Coward's prolific output in the 1920s and '30s included hits such as Hay Fever (1925), Private Lives (1930), Cavalcade (1931), and Design for Living (1932). He also created the celebrated Tonight at 8:30 cycle (1935), which included Still Life—later adapted by David Lean into the classic film Brief Encounter (1945). Alongside his plays, Coward was a gifted songwriter and lyricist, producing revues and operettas like This Year of Grace (1928), Bitter Sweet (1929), and Words and Music (1932), contributing over 300 songs to the canon, including Mad Dogs and Englishmen and A Room with a View.
Coward wrote Blithe Spirit (1941) in just six days while holidaying in Portmeirion. The play became his longest-running stage success, with a record-breaking run of 1,997 performances and numerous revivals and adaptations. Coward often played the role of Charles himself, including in stage tours, a 1956 TV version, and the 1964 musical High Spirits.
During WWII, Coward was encouraged by Churchill to support the war effort through entertainment, penning patriotic songs and co-directing and starring in the film In Which We Serve (1942), which won him special recognition at the Academy Awards. His wartime plays Present Laughter and This Happy Breed (both 1942) remain staples of his repertoire.
Postwar, Coward’s stage career faced mixed fortunes with plays like South Sea Bubble and Nude with Violin, and musicals such as Pacific 1860 and Ace of Clubs, often featuring his partner Graham Payn. He later found new success in cabaret, notably with Noël Coward at Las Vegas (1955), and returned to Broadway with musicals like Sail Away (1959) and The Girl Who Came to Supper (1963).
Coward’s final plays, Suite in Three Keys (1966), featured A Song at Twilight, marking his first openly gay character. He also enjoyed a memorable final screen role in The Italian Job (1969). That same year, he was knighted and honoured with a Tony Award for lifetime achievement.
Celebrated in his later years with revivals and revues like Cowardy Custard and Oh, Coward! (both 1972), Coward died at his beloved Firefly Estate in Jamaica in 1973, leaving behind a legacy of wit, elegance, and theatrical brilliance.
compiled by Simon Tolhurst
