Blithe Spirit
By Noel Coward | Lighting Design by Paul Miller | Directed by Brian Bedford
The Stratford Festival
Stratford, Ontario
“When the audience applauds, as they usually do, at the start of a Brian Bedford production, it means two things.
First, they’re getting their first glimpse of the kind of smashing scenery that Bedford usually elicits from his designers and second, they’re hailing in advance what they know is likely to be a first-rate piece of theatre.
They applauded Saturday night, when the curtain rose for the premiere of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, which marked the end of a seven-performance opening week at the Stratford Festival.
For the record, they were right on both counts. Simon Higlett’s set is the perfect home for a successful writer of thrillers to maintain not far from London and Blithe Spirit marks one more highly successful example of the theatrical ménage à trois that’s been forged between Bedford, Stratford and Coward over the past 35 years since he first played there in Private Lives with Maggie Smith.”
