THE nervy climate in which Blithe Spirit emerged in 1941 is reflected in a programme note for the first production stating: ‘If an air raid warning be received during the performance the audience will be informed from the stage… Those desiring to leave the theatre may do so but the performance will continue.’ How shrewd of its creator, therefore, to shape a play touching on a subject especially on the public mind at the time, namely death, within a wrapping that was light and escapist.
When Noël Coward put pen to paper
