Theatre Review - Blithe Spirit

For a play that was written in 1941, the themes of noveau riche eccentricity, petty jealousy and marriage are very current in the black comedy by Noel Coward, especially when translated into the local context as well as Wild Rice’s production was.

Harnessing the talents of some of the best known names in the local theatre scene, Blithe Spirit was as entertaining for the wit of the original script as it was for the localization of names, places, media and culture.

Blithe Spirit is about a writer, Charles Koh (Lim Kay Siu) who, seeking material for his new book, invites a medium, Mdm Arcati (Selena Tan) into his house to conduct a séance. The séance summons his ex-wife Elvira (Tan Kheng Hua) from the other side and the mayhem that issues between her and his current wife Ruth (Neo Swee Lin) is what makes up the bulk of the play.

A lot of the reason why this play worked is because of the stellar cast. Few people would have been able to give the difficult words and phrases in the script a natural flow like Lim Kay Siu and Neo Swee Lin. They brought upper class elegance to the performance, while still maintaining their Singaporean-ness, without the need to break into a ridiculous pseudo-British accent.

And little Pam Oei, as the Filipino maid Edith, invoked laughter every time she was on stage, regardless of whether she said anything or not, although her rendition of “Unporgetable” was priceless.

Mdm Arcati’s partiality to cucumber sandwiches and strange use of idioms helped identify her as working class with aspirations to “atas-ness” and won the empathy of the Singaporean heartlanders (i.e. me)

The local references not only served to bring home this play, which was written during WWII to cheer up the British. It also took loving jibes at issues close to our hearts like the quality of the local press and our ongoing love-hate relationship with maids. My favourite line was this

Charles: Ah, reading the Straits Times, I see. Anything interesting?
Ruth: (snaps) Don’t be ridiculous, Charles!

In the same scene, Charles is seen being friendly to Edith, enquiring if she has had breakfast and Ruth quips,” Don’t be over familiar with the servants, Charles. It confuses them.”

There were a couple of gaffes too. The follow spot guy just couldn’t keep up with Tan Kheng Hua and there were times when the light trailed behind her like a ghostly train. Swee Lin sometimes forgot that she was not supposed to see the apparition and stared dead into Kheng Hua’s eyes before she remembered who she was. And the most obvious one was poor Lim Kay Siu, tripping on a piece of debris and falling (rather gracefully) when coming up for his curtain call. The audience audibly sucked their breath in and slowly released it as he waved and assured us of his wholesomeness.

Blithe Spirit was a black comedy which would have left a local audience high and dry with its extreme British verbosity and dry wit, if not for the wonderful adaptation, clever pacing and occasional physical humour thrown in by the cast and the Wild Rice team of writers. Glen Goei drew out his cast all that they were able to give, and that is to his credit.

Watch Blithe Spirit with the heart of an English educated Singaporean, and you will enjoy it. Go expecting Noel Coward’s original masterpiece and you may be disappointed.