Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit, which opened in June as part of Artistic Director Jonathan Church’s Summer Season at Theatre Royal Bath, will return in 2020 for a U.K. tour and subsequent West End engagement.
Directed by Richard Eyre and again starring Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous), the new tour will open at Theatre Royal Brighton January 22–25, 2020, before playing Malvern Theatre, Theatre Royal Bath, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Richmond Theatre, and Norwich Theatre Royal. The production will arrive in the West End at the Duke of York's Theatre March 5 for limited engagement through April 11. Opening night in London is scheduled for March 10.
Saunders will reprise her role as clairvoyant Madame Arcati and will be joined by original cast members Geoffrey Streatfeild as Charles, Lisa Dillon as Ruth Condomine, Emma Naomi as Elvira, Simon Coates as Dr. Bradman, Lucy Robinson as Mrs. Bradman, and Rose Wardlaw as Edith.
See What Else Is Scheduled to Perform in London
In Blithe Spirit, novelist Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth are haunted by a past relationship when an eccentric medium inadvertently conjures up the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, at a séance. When she appears, visible only to Charles and determined to sabotage his current marriage, life—and the afterlife—get complicated.
A film adaptation is also in the works from director Ed Hall, with a cast including Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann, Judi Dench, and Dan Stevens.
The production also has design by Anthony Ward, lighting by Howard Harrison, sound by John Leonard, and illusions by Paul Kieve.
Blithe Spirit is presented by Theatre Royal Bath Productions, Lee Dean, and Jonathan Church Productions.
