Blythe Spirit
Performed at the Theatre Royal Bath on Nov 3rd 2010
Reviewed by Darryl Harris
Creative yet dreary. Star-studded yet amateur. Comedic yet cringe-worthy. These are the 3 phrases I would use to describe this production of Blythe Spirit.
The immediate set on curtain-up was quite a spectacle but I feel it was failed to be purposefully utilised by the cast. The members of the cast merely aimlessly drifted up and down the stairs and around the general set with no firm objectives to their movements. This led to alot of the “comedy” aspect being too overly staged and frankly embarrassing for the actors.
The presence of such “stars” as Alison Steadman and Hermione Norris brought a new form of appeal to this Comedy. Unfortunately, Steadman’s voice provided such an annoyance to the audio of this production that I failed to enjoy her performance at all. The high pitched vocals seemed melo-dramatic and in a bid to provide comedy only provided aggravation.
A good point (basically the only one) was Norris’s playing of Ruth Condomine. She managed to bring forth a character with a dry sense of humour but also certain traits that the audience could empathise with in scenes that were written to evoke sympathy for her. This solid performance was about the only thing that kept my eyes open for the duration.
By the interval I was more than ready to leave, with no motivation left to watch the second half. Luckily I did, as Norris successfully held together some funny scenes as well as holding up the rest of the dire cast.
Overall, this production has failed to grasp the basic and sometimes even slapstick comedy of other productions of Blythe Spirit. Personally the only way I would watch that play again would be on the conditions that Steadman was not in it and to help me get some sleep.
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