Riccarton Players

Press, 4 July 1985, Page 8

Riccarton Players

“Blithe Spirit,” by Noel Coward, directed by Shirley Caddick for the Riccarton Players, at the Mill Theatre, Wise Street. July 3. Running time: 8 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Reviewed by Gerrit Bahlman. Noel Coward’s spiritual farce retained its sense of fun and hilarity in an opening performance plagued by minor mischievous gremlins that added to the improbable plot. The tale of an author pursuing the facts of metaphysical practices invites a local medium to dinner. The resulting seance brings back his first wife. Unfortunately, he is the only one able to perceive her. His second wife is less than amused. Charles, the spiritually bigamous husband, appears for all the world to be talking to himself. This “beastly” behaviour becomes “quite intolerable” for Ruth (pronounced “roof”). Elvira, the spiritual first wife, is happily conscious of how cross (pronounced “crawse,” as in sauce) she is making Roof 'l’m sorry, Ruth). The hyper-ventilated pauses of Madam Arcarti, the medium over-seer with the Dutch accent, and the

affected eye expressions of a rapidly bewildering Charles, added to the general air of zaniness.

The presence of a strange, bow-like appendage to the rear of Madam Arcarti, which promptly dropped off before close scrutiny could determine its exact nature, combined with the most extraordinary variation in trouser length of the supposedly suave host to give a sense of mayhem. Elongated ad-libs to cover a malfunctioning sound cue, furtive dashes across the back of the stage to rediscover house lights, props that just would not leave the stage, and an outsideopening pair of french doors that were only closed by characters because they were to be reopened immediately, were some of the production slips that showed. Happily, the gremlins simply introduced another level of good-natured humour into the evening. Often, these minor incidents do not affect the dramatic purpose of the play but slow lighting cues that leave performers frozen waiting for a blackout or leave characters out of position laden with properties would destroy anything

other than a farce. The play uses a sevenmember cast. Michelle Johnson’s wide-mouthed vampish version of Elvira was a smooth and consistent portrayal — relaxed and confident. Stephen Murray, as Charles, used an affected, pouty facial expression which contradicted the age and sophistication of his character. It became comic rather than farcical. Ruth was played by Chris Stachurski. Her portrayal had all the elements of an upright, stern woman but her range of expression was limited. Theresa Macintyre played Madam Arcarti with energy and commitment. Early nervousness marred her delivery but her confidence grew as the evening progressed. The original dinner party guests were the Bradmans, played by Ruth Gasson and Andrew Riach. The parlour maid was played by Marie Shefford. While there were many self-evident flaws in this production, the play is lots of fun and left me chuckling, having enjoyed the combination of Coward’s wit and the misfortunes of an unlucky first night.