Blithe Spirit is a witty supernatural comedy about novelist Charles Condomine, who invites eccentric medium Madame Arcati to conduct a séance as research for his next book. The experiment goes awry when the ghost of his late first wife, Elvira, is accidentally summoned. Mischievous and jealous, Elvira is determined to reclaim Charles and wreak havoc on his marriage to his current wife, Ruth. As tensions and ghostly pranks escalate, Charles becomes hilariously entangled between two feuding wives — one living and one dead.

The word “blithe,” means cheerful, carefree, or lighthearted, and “spirit,” means a soul or ghost. So together, “blithe spirit” means a happy, carefree soul — someone (or something) full of joy and without worry. 

 

Characters: 

Everyone is welcome to audition. These are approximate ages related to the given character. Ages outside of these windows are welcome to audition. 

Charles Condomine  – (male, 40s) A sophisticated and witty English novelist in his forties who finds himself caught between his current wife, Ruth, and the ghost of his first wife, Elvira. Intelligent and charming, yet temperamental, Charles’s curiosity about the supernatural sets the play’s events in motion. Torn between logic and chaos, he struggles to maintain control as his two marriages—one living and one dead—collide. Requires minimal physical comedy.

 

 

Ruth Condomine – (female, 30s/40s) Charles’s second wife. Elegant, practical, and refined, Ruth values order and composure but is easily unsettled by the absurd. Jealous, insecure, and desperate to regain control of her household, she battles to exorcise Elvira and save her marriage from the ultimate “other woman.” Requires special theatrical makeup.

 

 

Elvira – (female, 20s-30s) The mischievous and flirtatious ghost of Charles’s first wife. Vivacious, witty, and delightfully wicked, she returns from the afterlife to reclaim her husband and wreak havoc on his current marriage. Elvira thrives on attention and chaos, her playfulness concealing a possessive streak. Requires special theatrical makeup.

 

 

Madame Arcati – (female, 40s+) An eccentric and enthusiastic medium in her later years, full of energy and odd habits. Though she truly believes in her craft, her séance accidentally summons Elvira and leads to supernatural mayhem. Equal parts sincere and comical, she is both the cause and would-be solution to the haunting. Requires minimal physical comedy.

 

 

Edith – (female, 18+) The Condomines’ well-meaning but clumsy maid, always in a hurry and often in over her head. Beneath her bumbling exterior lies an unexpected connection to the spiritual realm, making her key to the story’s resolution. Requires moderate physical comedy.

 

 

Dr. George Bradman – (male, 40s) The local physician and a friend of the Condomines. Sensible, serious, and skeptical, he views Madame Arcati’s séance as harmless nonsense and represents the rational foil to the evening’s supernatural events.

 

 

Violet Bradman – (female, 30s-40s) Dr. Bradman’s curious and good-natured wife. Slightly naïve and flighty, she’s fascinated by Madame Arcati’s spiritual pursuits and far less cynical than her husband, adding a touch of wonder to the skeptical circle.

Auditions will consist of readings from the script. You are welcome to prepare a short comedic monologue or prepare one of the following: 

 

Charles:

Ruth! .... Elvira! ... - are you there? Ruth!? Elvira?! – I know damn well you’re there. I just

want to tell you that I’m going away, so there’s no point in your hanging about any longer –

I’m going a long way away – somewhere where I don’t believe you’ll be able to follow me – in

spite of what Elvira said I don’t think spirits can travel over water. Is that quite clear, my

darlings? You said in one of your more acid moments, Ruth, that I had been hagridden all

my life! How right you were! But now I’m free, Ruth dear, not only of Mother and Elvira and

Mrs. Winthrop-Llewellyn, but free of you too, and I should like to take this farewell

opportunity of saying I’m enjoying it immensely. Goodbye for the moment, my dears! I

expect we are bound to meet again one day, but until we do I’m going to enjoy myself as I

never enjoyed myself before. You can break up the house as much as you like – I’m leaving

it anyhow. Think kindly of me, and send out good thoughts. Goodbye again! Parting is such

sweet sorrow!

 

Charles:

When I was a little boy an aunt of mine used to come and stay with us. She imagined that she was a medium and used to go off into the most elaborate trances after dinner. My mother was fascinated by it. She naturally disliked my aunt and loved making a fool of her. Oh, sometimes my aunt didn't do so badly. On one occasion when we were all sitting round in the pitch dark with my mother groping her way through Chaminade at the piano, my aunt suddenly gave a shrill scream and said that she saw a small black dog by my chair. Then someone switched on the lights and sure enough there it was. It was obviously a stray that had come in from the street. But I must say I took off my hat to Auntie for producing it, or rather for utilizing it. Even Mother was a bit shaken... That dog lived with us for years. 

 

Madame Arcati:

I first discovered that I had these extra-ordinary powers when I was quite tiny.  My mother was a medium before me, you know, and so I had every opportunity of starting on the ground floor, as you might say. I had my first trance when I was four years old and my first ectoplasmic mani- festation when I was five and a half. What an exciting day that was! I shall never forget it. Of course the manifestation itself was quite small and of very short duration, but, for a child of my tender years, it was most gratifying. My mother was so pleased. I cannot foretell the future -- certainly not. I disapprove of fortune tellers most strongly.

 

Ruth:

I’ve been doing my level best to control myself ever since yesterday morning, and I’m

damned if I’m going to try anymore, the strain is too much. She has the advantage of being

able to say whatever she pleases without me being able to hear her, but she can hear me

all right, can’t she, with any modified interpreting? You haven’t told me once what she really

said – you wouldn’t dare. Judging from her photograph she’s the type who would use most

unpleasant language. Well, I’ve been making polite conversation all through dinner last

night and breakfast and lunch today – and it’s been a nightmare – and I am not going to do it

anymore. I don’t like Elvira any more than she likes me, and what’s more, I’m certain that I

never could have, dead or alive.

 

Elvira:

I sat there, on the other side, just longing for you day after day. I did really. All through your affair with that brassy-looking woman in the South of France I went on loving you and thinking truly of you. Then you married Ruth and even then I forgave you and tried to understand because all the time I believed deep inside that you really loved me best . . . that's why I put myself down for a return visit and had to fill in all those forms and wait about in drafty passages for hours. If only you'd died before you met Ruth, everything might have been all right. She's absolutely ruined you. I hadn't been in the house a day before I realized that. Your books aren't a quarter as good as they used to be, either. 

 

Mrs. Violet Bradman:

That happens sometimes, you know. Everything seems to go wrong at once. Exactly as though there were some evil forces at work. I remember once when George and I went away for a fortnight's holiday, not long after we were married, we were dogged by bad luck from beginning to end. The weather was vile. George sprained his ankle-- and I caught a cold and had to stay in bed for two days and to crown everything the lamp fell over in the sitting room and set fire to the treatise George had written on hyperplasia of the abdominal glands. It was dreadful. He had to write it all over again, every single word.

 

Dr. Bradman:

Nothing to worry about, Mrs Condomine -- ­it's only a slight strain. He made a good deal of fuss when I examined it. Men are much worse patients than women, you know­, particularly highly ­strung men like your husband. As a matter of fact I wanted to talk to you about that: I'm afraid he's been overworking lately. He's in rather a nervous condition -- ­nothing serious, you understand­- but I know the symptoms. Of course the shock of his fall might have something to do with it, but I certainly should advise a complete rest for a couple of weeks. In cases like that a change of atmosphere can work wonders. There's nothing to be unduly alarmed about, but he demonstrates a certain inability to focus his eyes on the person he is talking to, ­a few rather marked irrelevancies in his conversation... He suddenly shouted, 'What are you doing in the bathroom?' and then a little later, while I was writing him a prescription, he suddenly said, 'For God's sake behave yourself!' Oh, I am not in the least perturbed about it really, ­but I do think a rest and a change would be a good idea.