News: Blithe Spirit starring Jennifer Saunders to return to the West End

Blithe Spirit is set to return to the West End, starring Jennifer Saunders. Noel Coward’s classic comedy will now play at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 16 September to 6 November after originally being cut short due to the pandemic.

Directed by Sir Richard Eyre, the production originally celebrated a sold-out run at Theatre Royal Bath, as well as a UK tour. The show transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre in March 2020 and performed only 12 times before being forced to close due to the impact of Covid-19.

Jennifer Saunders will reprise her role as the Madame Arcati, alongside Geoffrey Streatfeild as Charles Condomine, Lisa Dillon as Ruth Condomine, Simon Coates as Dr Bradman, Lucy Robinson as Mrs Bradman and Rose Wardlaw as Edith.

The production unites a multi-award-winning creative team, including director Sir Richard Eyre, designer Anthony Ward, lighting designer Howard Harrison and sound designer John Leonard, with illusions by Paul Kieve.

Written in 1941, the comedy had a record-breaking run in the West End and on Broadway and remains one of Coward’s most popular works.

Novelist Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth are literally haunted by a past relationship when an eccentric medium inadvertently conjures up the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, at a séance. When she appears, visible only to Charles, and determined to sabotage his current marriage, life – and the afterlife – get complicated…

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