2011 Blithe Spirit

Blithe Spirit

Hoskins Theatre, TAS - September/October 2011

Directed by Mark Bourne
Produced by David Trestrail

By Noel Coward. By special arrangement with Dominie Pty Ltd.

SYNOPSIS

The living-room of Charles Condomine's house in Kent.

SCENES

Act 1

Scene 1 - Before dinner on a summer evening

Scene 2 - After dinner

Act 2

Scene 1 - The next morning

Scene 2 - Late the following afternoon

Scene 3 - Early evening. A few days later

Act 3

Scene 1 - After dinner. A few days later

Scene 2 - Several hours later

Director's Message

After directing Beautiful Thing by Jonathan Harvey in 2010, I started to look around for my next possible production and had a vague idea that it would be interesting to do something a little different next time. Beautiful Thing was very contemporary, set on a London housing estate, with characters, themes and language to suit, so looking at a more "traditional" play seemed to be a good starting point. As is often the way with vague ideas, I don't think that I had any clue just how different my next choice would be and that I would make the move from modern-day London to 1930's country England!

Blithe Spirit was written by Noel Coward in less than a week in 1941 and is still performed by many theatre companies around the world, both professional and non-professional. I believe that the continued popularity of the play lies in the simple fact that it is a clever story, with truly wonderful characters. The fact that it is also written in Coward's distinctively witty and amusing style is the icing on the cake and as soon as I re-read it, I remembered how much I loved it and knew that I wanted to direct it for ADMS.

A period production is a huge undertaking and I could not have managed it without the support and tireless hard work of the cast, production team and crew involved. My heartfelt thanks go to everyone who has contributed in ways both large and small. Special thanks must go to our Producer, David Trestrail, for not only his production duties, but also his wonderful work on costumes for the show and to Pam Menzies and Anne Keoghan for their massive contribution in locating props for the production. As a team they have begged and borrowed and scoured Armidale for period items that would bring our set to life and I believe that they have done an incredible job and I am extremely grateful.

The only thing left to do, is to welcome you to Coward's 1930's England. A time of gramophones, cucumber sandwiches, Dry Martinis and frightfully English accents.

We hope that you enjoy the show.

CAST

Ruth Condomine: Liz Ellis, Edith: Maudie Beissel, Charles Condomine: Greg Balcombe, Dr George Bradman: Brendon Collits, Mrs Violet Bradman: Sarah Watson, Madam Arcati: Anita Brown, Elvira Condomine: Deborah Hunter

Production Team

Director: Mark Bourne

Producer: David Trestrail

Stage Manager: Rhiannon Wright

Assistant Stage Manager: Chris Curcuruto

Set Design: Mark Bourne

Construction Engineer: Pat Bradley

Set Construction: Pat Bradley, Mark Bourne, David Trestrail, Greg Balcombe, Brendan Collits, Liz Ellis, Maud Beissel, Deborah Hunter, Sarah Watson, Ben Bible, Roz Brady, Ewan Paterson, Warren Bartik, Daphne McCurdy, Neil Horton, Gordon Cope, Barbara Albury

Lighting: Diana Helmrich

Sound Design: Pat Bradley

Sound Operators: Pat Bradley, Ewan Paterson

Costume Sourcing &/or Sewing: Mark Bourne, David Trestrail, June Billings

Original Costume - Elvira: Deborah Hunter

Original Costumes - Ruth: David Trestrail

Original Costume - Edith: Margaret Sims

Properties: Pam Menzies with Anne Keoghan, Dot Pollard

Publicity and Promotion: Mark Bourne, Marney Tilley

Poster Design: Mark Bourne

Program: Greg Balcombe

Make-up: Charlie Wright

Cast & Crew Refreshments: Dot Pollard

Front of House: Ben Bible with Will Smidt, Nicole Farrell, Ben Thorn, Lisa Quast, Mike Gibson, Jan Patterson, Annie Abbott, Alex Robson, Frances Tafra, Carol Elder, Nel Arnold

Ticketing: David Trestrail

Photography: Johan Boshoff, Mark Bourne

Back Stage Crew: Kim Wardman

THANK YOU

Rocky from "The Newie" for hanging our banner, for sourcing and loaning of props Maree & Maurice Anker, Bruce Menzies, New England Building Recyclers, LifeLine, Les at Armidale Dumaresq Landfill Recycling Shop, Salvation Army, Uralla Antiques, Karin Lewis-Thorpe