Press Release - 15 November 2008

'Blithe Spirit' by Noel Coward

Blithe Spirit was Coward´s own favourite play, written in an amazing five days during one of the darkest periods of the war. That it then ran for over four years is not surprising. It really is a wonderful antidote to depression.

Returning for their annual theatrical spectacular, Indulgence theatre offers an evening of fast–paced, comical interaction with the spirit world. Noel Coward´s evergreen comedy is a classic cocktail of the supernatural and the suburban.

Smug socialites Charles and Ruth Condomine (Mr Matthew Morrissey and Mrs Joanna Hollingworth) invite eccentric local psychic Madame Arcati (Mrs Elizabeth Lucas) to hold a séance for them: he´s a sceptical writer and he wants to do a little research. Then, the negligée-clad ghost of his glamorous first wife, Elvira (Miss Janie Atcheson), actually turns up. There can have been few funnier situations in the history of comedy than this of a man caught between a bossy sexless wife and a gloriously sexy one… we´ll leave you to decide which is which!

Re–uniting some of the best local acting talent, this entertaining comedy completely ignores the big questions and concentrates more on big performances. Indulgence rises to the spirit of the occasion with a production which effortlessly combines all of their strengths to produce a top notch evening of amusing and enjoyable theatre, as well as the usual ‘Indulgences’… Don your smoking jackets and fill your pipes for an extraordinary evening from start to finish!

John Pountney will once again be tinkling the ivories of the Drill Hall Steinway in the foyer both before the show and during the interval.