Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Blithe Spirit and Gender Relations

Broadcast in NBC’s  BEST PLAYS on 31 August 1952, this is a pared down (1 hour) version produced in an anthology series curated by theatre critic John Chapman.  the cast included John Loder, sometime film actor and socialite, Mildred Nateick, who played Madame Arcadia on Broadway, plus Halil Stoddard and Anna Barr.  The production was directed by Edward King, with a live studio orchestra.

There are a couple of quirks, especially for a British audience.  Charles Condomine’s surname is pronounced “condomine,” with the last syllable rhyming with the English word “mine”. And on at least two occasions Madame Arcati’s name comes out as “Archaty”.  I am not censoring anyone, but it does prove slightly disturbing when you’ve grown up with a play using certain pronunciations.

Often dismissed as just a farce, a piece of whimsy designed to take audience’s minds off the rigours of the War when it premiered in 1941, and since then venerated as providing a delicious role for an elderly actor such as Margaret Rutherford, Peggy Mount, or Hermione Baddeley.  Yet the play has more to say about marriage and how it affects different people.  This is what King’s production explored.  Initially it seems that Charles (Loder) dominates the proceedings, as he invites Madame Arcati for the purpose of researching his latest thriller. She bridles at the suggestion that she can “pass on a few tips” rather than undertake a serious job of work.

As the drama unfolds, so Charles los3s control over the proceedings.  Once Elvira materialises, the dialogue becomes extremely erotic, with Charles and Elvira exchanging sexual innuendo without actually saying anything remotely obscene, while Ruth, unable to see Elvira, remains on the outside, an increasingly irate presence.  Whether the eroticism has been initiated by Elvira is not defined, but it’s clear that neither Charles nor Elvira has control over what they say.  The eroticism just emerges.

This aspect of the production illuminates a fascinating contradiction. Charles organises the evening for s specific purpose, and throughout he and the Bradmans remain eminently reasonable.  On Elvira’s entrance, however, we begin to doubt whether anything that happens is reasonable or not; and does it matter, anyway? Why shouldn’t people occasionally give in to erotic impulses, even if they have no idea where they will end up? In BLITHD SPIRIT everything remains verbally quite polite, but this production suggests that things might be happening in adjoining rooms that we are denied any knowledge of.

The satire of marriage increases as the play unfolds, with Charles and Elvira confessing their various dalliances in the past, even while protesting their faithfulness at the same time. We might speculate about the nature of such affairs, but there’s no need to; the fact that Charles and Elvira willingly discuss their affairs with each other suggests a love of bickering, not serious infidelity.

The ending is deliciously handled.  Charles’ sense of self-confidence increases as the two women are spirited away, and he resolved to leave the cottage.  However the rumbles and the smashing of China accompanying his final speech suggests that they haven’t gone away at all.  They may no longer be corporeality visible, but their presence is still very much around.


Interestingly, this production omits the final final moments, when Charles gets into his car and drives off, only to come to a sticky end on the nearby bridge. The 1945 film has him joining his wives in eternity as his car crashes.  This American production leaves him alive while the two women are dead. Perhaps King wanted to restore the sexual status quo to placate his listeners, but this strategy fails to convince.  The fact that he is plagued with his ex-wives’ presence suggests that any pretence towards authority is purely illusory.

No comments:

Post a Comment