Arts and Entertainment

Century Church Theatre thrilled to perform ‘Blithe Spirit,’ a comedy set in 1940s Britain

March 5, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Nick Farrow has high praise for the current cast and crew opening Blithe Spirit at Century Church Theatre in Hillsburgh. Farrow is directing the play.

In a recent interview with the Citizen, he said, “It’s not three acts exactly – the third act is very short. It is a fast pace, very wordy comedy.”

He added, “It is technically very challenging, and this is a team of people who work very hard.”

To offer a brief synopsis, Coward’s wonderful play takes us back to the elegant, sophisticated Britain of the 1940s. It takes place in the Condomines’ country house in a small village near Folkestone, Kent, England. Mystery novelist Charles Condomine and his wife, Ruth, have invited their friends, Dr. and Mrs. Bradman, for drinks and dinner.

By way of research for his next book, Charles has also invited a local clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to hold a séance after dinner so he can observe her behaviour as a character for his new book.

Charles’ first wife died five years ago, and he has since been married to Ruth. In the opening scene, she teases him a little about how he was prepared to marry her in those first few years after Ruth’s death. Would he do as much again if she died? He protests his love for her while admitting he still has feelings for Elvira.

Little does Charles imagine that his late wife, Elvira, will arrive on the scene once Madame Arcari’s séance is in full swing. When Elvira does appear, she makes herself known to Charles, although only Charles and she can talk to each other. Neither the Bradman couple nor Ruth can see or hear her. Naturally, they refuse to believe that Charles has the delightful repartee dancing among him. The ghost of Elvira is extremely funny.

“The comedy begins from the fact that Elvira comes back. Charles can see her but his present wife doesn’t believe she is really there,” Farrow offered. “She creates as much mischief as she can between Charles and his present wife. Elvira is a bit of a vamp.”

The supporting characters, Dr. Bradman and his wife, who also cannot see Elvira and don’t believe she is there either, along with Madame Arcati in the midst of it all, make the comedy quite madcap.

There are a tremendous number of words in a Coward play, but this challenge is accepted wholeheartedly by the cast, and Farrow is impressed by the dedication the actors are giving to coming “’off book.” He commented that they are rehearsing together via Zoom in addition to their weekly rehearsals at the theatre.

“The actors have been stellar,” he remarked.

Rehearsals have been going on since Jan. 5, with a regular schedule of all day Sunday and Monday evenings, managing to deal with winter conditions on the faithful Zoom as necessary, which adds up to 72 hours at the theatre, all told.

The biggest challenge for the actors has been “to get them into the period of the times of the 1940s, and they have studied and come up very good,” said Farrow.

Along with the dialogue and the presentation, Farrow is delighted with the costumes, which emulate the look of the ’40s so well. Ruth is wearing a beautiful gown, and Charles is wearing a dinner jacket.

It was the British Nick Farrow himself who suggested the theatre company take on Blithe Spirit because he liked the challenge. Normally, Farrow and the company do a murder mystery, and this is new for them all.

“In my program notes, I mention that a play by Coward is still relevant to today. He appears as himself in the last movie, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale,” Farrow mentioned. “ He was invited to come as an entertainer, to sing.”

Sir Noël Peirce Coward was a playwright, singer, composer, and actor. Of his many plays, 27 are highlighted and in regular production, even though he wrote more than 50. His high wit and charm endear him to theatres around the world. Coward died in 1973.

Blithe Spirit was one of his most beloved plays.

Farrow said, “For me, the conflict is the husband sees his dead wife and his present wife – it is tender love aspiring to last.”

Blithe Spirit opens on March 8 and runs over two weekends, with the final show on March 21.

For tickets and details, go to www.centurychurchtheatre.com.

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