What Do Critics Think of Blithe Spirit, Starring Jennifer Saunders? | Playbill

The Verdict What Do Critics Think of Blithe Spirit, Starring Jennifer Saunders? The London production opened March 10 at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
Jennifer Saunders and Emma Naomi in Blithe Spirit.

Reviews are in for the London production of Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit, which opened March 10 at the Duke of York's Theatre.

Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous) plays Madame Arcati opposite Geoffrey Streatfeild as Charles, Lisa Dillon as Ruth, Emma Naomi as Elvira, Simon Coates as Dr Bradman, Lucy Robinson as Mrs Bradman, and Rose Wardlaw as Edith. Richard Eyre serves as director.

Read the reviews below.

The Arts Desk (Aleks Sierz)

The Daily Mail (Luke Jones)

The Evening Standard (Nick Curtis)

The Independent (Paul Taylor)

Londonist (Franco Milazzo)

London Theatre (Mark Shenton)

The Stage (Tim Bano)

The Sun (Chloe Kerr)

The Telegraph (Claire Allfree)

TimeOut London (Tom Wicker)

The Times (Clive Davis)

Variety (David Benedict)

The comedy follows novelist Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth as they are haunted by a past relationship when an eccentric medium inadvertently conjures up the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, at a seance. When she appears, visible only to Charles and determined to sabotage his current marriage, life—and the afterlife—get complicated.

A separate film adaptation, starring Dan Stevens, Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, and Judi Dench, will premiere this year. Watch the trailer here.

Production Photos: Jennifer Saunders in Blithe Spirit

 
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