Blithe Spirit
Gielgud Theatre, London
Until 7 June 2014
★★★★★
Angela Lansbury is currently starring in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit at the Gielgud Theatre in London.
I saw the show last night and was blown away not only by the stellar cast but that a play written more than eighty years ago still resonates with today’s audience. The comedy of this piece is timeless and the story is so well crafted that by the interval, you are left not knowing how the piece will pan out.
Angela plays the dotty medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati. Lansbury has previously said that this is one of her favourite roles to play, and it really shows. Her portrayal of the eccentric spiritualist adds a level of camp humour one would expect from a Noel Coward farce. She dances around the stage accentuating every movement before collapsing on the sofa in a trance adding even more fuel to the hearty laughter of the audience.
And it’s not just Angela’s performance that makes Blithe Spirit so unmissable. With a modest cast of six people, every stage presence is perfectly crafted by these talented actors. I was worried that having such a huge star on stage may outshine the other performers, but each held their own and made the whole show an enjoyable romp from start to finish.
I actually teared up during the standing ovation. Angela Lansbury has always been apart of my entertainment life; from Murder She Wrote to Bedknobs and Broomsticks and even as Mrs Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Lansbury is one of the all time greats; starting in show business at just nineteen years old, her varied career has panned almost seventy years. To see such a well known icon performing mere meters away from me was an honour and a privilege.
London has also played host to a number of film screenings showing Angela’s greatest work with some introduced by the star herself – Bedknobs and Broomsticks being one of them. Born and raised in Poplar in 1925, she is now eighty-eight years old and it feels as if this may very well be her farewell tour of London. Although I don’t expect her to retire any time soon.
Blithe Spirit is a brilliantly crafted piece of theatre that will entertain, thrill and excite you. I didn’t see anyone leave the auditorium without a smile on their face.The run ends on 7 June, so get your tickets fast – this is one show you shouldn’t miss out on.
Tickets are available online and at the box office.
#TerryGee
I have worked with many celebrities over the years and stardom rarely fazes me – but this is Angela Lansbury. I just had to wait alongside the mass of people crowded around the stage door to at least get a glimpse of her. For just a brief time I was in the presence of one the most influential actresses of stage and screen and that in itself was worth the thirty minute wait.
About Noel Coward
Noel Coward was one of the greatest playwrights the world has ever seen. He was also an accomplished composer, director, actor, singer and all round entertainer. Born at the end of the nineteenth century, he lived most of his life as a flamboyant socialite who was forced to hide his sexuality as until 1969, homosexuality was illegal in the UK and USA.
Writing more than fifty plays throughout his life, many of them are still shown today. Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, Present Laughter and Blithe Spirit have all remained in the public eye for over eighty years. Noel’s genius never faulted and his final play Star Quality was penned just six years before his death.
