Review of the production Blithe Spirit the relationships depicted in the production and the various thearical tools of production involved

Essay by vivHigh School, 11th gradeB, March 2004

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Blithe Spirit- Brings the spirit world to life!

What do you get when you put together a distinctive setting, fascinating characters and a hint of conjuring? It'll be the new contemporary production of "Blithe Spirit" which recently had its astoundingly successful opening night at the Opera House. Director Roger Hogeman has put together his own distinctive version of this humorous play set in the days just after the War in England, a time of rebellion and experimentation, where everything new and unusual was looked upon with an open mind and great fascination.

The play tells the tale of a successful writer, Charles Condomine who decides to get inspiration for a novel by throwing a dinner party with his wife, inviting a highly renowned medium to contact the spirit world so that he could study her delusional acts and to his utter astonishment, his skepticism is blown out of the water when the ostentatious medium Madam Alkady actually manages to not only contact his deceased wife on the other side but also draws her back to their world.

Utter chaos takes place with every range of human emotion emerging from this bizarre situation, (from jealousy to lust to hatred to sadness) with many deep and meaningful themes incorporated (such as death, love, revenge) into a witty, comical and thoroughly enjoyable theatrical production.

Hogeman has emphasized the complex characters in such a way that the audience is captivated into their lifestyle and the intricate relationships between the characters from the first moment we meet Charles and his wife Ruth, and listen to their witty droll banter. The costumes depicts the characters and their personalities perfectly, from Ruth dressed up in her stiff starched blouse and long straight skirt, to Elvira in her sparkling, seductive, voluptuous gown to Madame Alkady in...