Day tripper

Like a lot of classics, Blithe Spirit doesn’t quite deserve its exalted reputation.

Like a lot of classics, Blithe Spirit doesn’t quite deserve its exalted reputation. Every time I see it I discover a little bit less. Catty, slight, charming, clever and a touch too pleased with itself, the play shapes up as nothing more than an ingeniously plotted sitcom. It’s no surprise to learn that it was written in six days. The Blitz and the threat of sudden death had fostered a mood of defiant merriment in the British people which the play, dashed off in 1941, captures very skilfully.

Thea Sharrock’s production is competent, slick and faintly heartless. Robert Bathurst brings a nice blend of suavity and huffiness to the role of Charles. Ruthie Henshall, an over-smiley Elvira, prowls the stage with the sinuous suggestiveness of a ballerina who likes to moonlight at strip clubs. Elvira is, quite literally, a bitch of a part. All she does is throw things — tantrums, flowers, sarcastic comments — and Henshall makes what she can of the little on offer.

The honours go to Hermione Norris, whose ultra-stylish and steely Ruth gives the play some emotional weight, and to Alison Steadman, who plays Madame Arcati as a borderline outpatient. Some have complained that Steadman honks and barks too much, that she paddles her hands around her head distractingly, and that she over-emphasises Madame Arcati’s affectation and vulgarity. All true. But it’s an original interpretation and she carries it off with terrific conviction. The maid, played by Jodie Taibi, has been encouraged to indulge in a couple of unfunny clowning routines which suggest that Thea Sharrock is a day-tripper rather than a native to the world of comedy.