Blithe Spirit
Presented by Theatre Royal Bath Productions, by arrangement with Duncan C Weldon and Paul Elliott
By Noel Coward
Directed by Thea Sharrock
Wednesday 3rd – Saturday 13th November
Starring Alison Steadman, Robert Bathurst and Hermione Norris
PRIOR TO WEST END
“A classic of high English comedy…addictively entertaining” – Daily Telegraph
When Blithe Spirit opened in 1941 it played for over 2,000 performances and it has been one of the world’s favourite comedies ever since. Its razor-sharp wit and wonderful characters have continued to raise spirits both in the audience and on stage. Coward’s supernatual classic now plays Bath prior to a West End opening at the Apollo Theatre.
Novelist Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth are literally haunted by a past relationship when an eccentric medium manages to conjure up the ghost of Charles’s neurotic first wife, Elvira, at a seance.
They have assumed the preposterous Madame Arcati is a fraud who will simply entertain their dinner guests with a little chicanery and supply Charles with material for his forthcoming novel. But when Elvira appears, visible only to Charles, and determined to sabotage his current marriage, life – and the afterlife – begin to get complicated.
Alison Steadman
Hermione Norris
Robert Bathurst
Alison Steadman plays the improbable clairvoyant, one of theatre’s most hilarious comic creations. Alison Steadman is one of our best-loved and most prolific actresses who recently enjoyed a West End run and a return visit to Bath in Alan Bennett’s Enjoy. Also on stage she created the role of the monstrous Beverly in Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party and starred in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, for which she won an Olivier Award. Her films include Shirley Valentine and Mike Leigh’s Life Is Sweet and Topsy Turvy. Television work includes Fat Friends, Selling Hitler, The Singing Detective, Pride and Prejudice and Gavin & Stacey.
Hermione Norris plays Ruth Condomine. Hermione, who until recently played Ros Myers in the BBC series Spooks, has been filming Outcasts, a new drama for BBC1. She co-stars in ITV’s 2010 remake of 70’s classic Bouquet of Barbed Wire, and has also starred in ITV’s Kingdom, Wire in the Blood, Lucky Jim and C4’s film Falling Apart. She is still celebrated as the redoubtable Karen Marsden in Cold Feet. Her stage credits include Look Back in Anger at Manchester Royal Exchange, September Tide at the Comedy Theatre, and more recently the 24 hour plays at The Old Vic. Her films include Quicksand, Born Romantic and Separate Lies.
Robert Bathurst plays Charles Condomine. Robert made his professional stage debut in 1983 in Michael Frayn’s Noises Off. In the 1980s his television roles included appearing in comedies such as The Lenny Henry Show and the first episode of Red Dwarf. Following his first major television role in Steven Moffat’s semi-autobiographical BBC sitcom Joking Apart, he was cast in the ITV comedy drama Cold Feet, which ran for five series from 1998 to 2003. After Cold Feet concluded, Bathurst played a fictional prime minister in the BBC sitcom My Dad’s the Prime Minister, Mark Thatcher in the fact-based drama Coup!, and a man whose daughter goes missing in the ITV thriller The Stepfather. He also made a return to theatre roles, playing Vershinin in The Three Sisters, government whip Alistair in Whipping it Up, and Alex in Alex.
Thea Sharrock is an award-winning director who has previously worked with Derek Jacobi, Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley and Damian Lewis in the West End. Her production of Rattigan’s After the Dance is currently running at the National Theatre where it has received ecstatic reviews.
“A beautifully structured comedy” – Times
“Coward is pure entertainment” – Daily Mail
| Mon–Fri Evenings & Sat Matinee | £19.00 | £24.50 | £28.00 | £30.00 | £32.50 |
| Saturday Evenings | £20.50 | £26.50 | £30.50 | £32.50 | £34.50 |
| Midweek Matinees | £16.50 | £22.50 | £25.50 | £28.00 | £30.00 |
Please note that, due to the staging of some productions, the Grand Circle may be restricted view
Performance Times
Monday – Wednesday: 7.30pm
Thursday – Saturday: 8.00pm
Matinees: Thursday 4th, Wednesday 10th and Saturdays 6th & 13th 2.30pm
Described performance: Wednesday 10th at 2.30pm
Signed performance: Thursday 11th 8pm
Lunch and Listen Wednesday 10th
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