Dan Stevens is in high spirits over new film
Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens stars in classic comedy Blithe Spirit. He tells DANIELLE DE WOLFE about his role and working with Dame Judi Dench
TRANSFORMING a classic piece of theatre into a contemporary on-screen adaptation without losing the charm that made it so unique will always be a tough undertaking.
Dappled with sentiments from a bygone era, it’s precisely the situation in which Noel Coward’s classic comedy Blithe Spirit finds itself.
Directed by Edward Hall, whose previous credits include hit ITV series Downton Abbey and acclaimed BBC drama Spooks, the script centres on the wildly successful yet assuredly unhinged crime novelist Charles Condomine, played by fellow Downton Abbey alumnus Dan Stevens.
Set in 1937, the light-hearted tale unravels within the Art Deco confines of the writer’s sprawling Surrey home which he shares with current wife Ruth, played by Now You See Me star Isla Fisher.
Edging towards insanity, a tweedclad Charles desperately searches for the inspiration that has been absent since the passing of his first wife, Elvira, played by Knocked Up’s Leslie Mann.
That is until an enthralling evening at the theatre captures Charles’ imagination, resulting in the show’s star – a famous medium named Madame Arcati, brought to life by Dame Judi Dench – conducting a private seance in their home.
“I think it’s interesting to remember that this play was written in 1941, when Britain was facing a pretty bleak time and Coward had a peculiarly British ability to find comedy and wit and humour and levity in some pretty bleak subject matter,” says Dan, 38.
“My character is a grieving alcoholic at the end of his tether, struggling with writer’s block – he’s not in a great way.
“Yet, Coward finds this absolutely mad triangle and it’s just glorious chaos. It’s quite nice to remember that in the midst of all the bleakness.”
A combination of physical comedy and an altogether softer approach to Coward’s original sharp, quick-witted exchanges, the film sees Madame Arcati conjure the spirit of Charles’ first wife, Elvira, resulting in a love triangle from beyond the grave.
“You have a group of us sitting around essentially watching Judi do her thing – we have a couple of interjections, but it’s really the Madame Arcati show at that moment, quite literally,” adds Dan of shooting the film’s seance scenes.
“There are all sorts of effects going on and it’s a long old scene.
But great fun, you know. Just a very silly gang, sitting around a table with Judi Dench doing her incredible work, it’s a pretty great day at the office.”
First opening in the West End in 1941, the original production was subsequently transferred to the big screen courtesy of David Lean in 1945.
By today’s standards, the premise of two wives quarrelling over their husband might be considered a little outdated. However, the script boasts a warm and nostalgic undercurrent which, paired with the film’s period setting, provides some suitably comedic respite in the midst of an otherwise bleak January.
“It had all the right notes that made me want to do it, really,” says Dan.
“And also, it was my first time trying to do Coward on screen, which not a lot of people have tried to be honest and it hasn’t always been done successfully.
“There was a lovely circularity to this project, in that my first West End job was Noel Coward’s Hay Fever with Judi Dench, directed by Sir Peter Hall.
“I started out in his theatre company and it’s his son, Ed Hall, who came to me with this really lovely adaptation.”
As the tit-for-tat storyline unravels, Charles’ current wife, Ruth, finds herself increasingly jealous of Elvira, a woman only her husband can see.
In equal parts manipulative and talented, Leslie’s ghostly character is something of a wind-up merchant when it comes to subtly
You have a group of us sitting around essentially watching Judi – we have a couple of interjections, but it’s really the Madame Arcati show at that moment
Dan Stevens on shooting the film’s seance scenes
taunting her living counterpart – a trait that captured the attention of Leslie from the outset.
“I was thrilled to be asked to join in - I was asked kind of late in the game, I think someone else dropped out,” laughs Leslie, 48.
“To be able to completely let loose and be this big character – I’ve never done that before.
“To just carry myself the way that she carries herself. Ed Hall had the whole movie in his head, exactly how he wanted to shoot it and wanted it to be and I just followed his vision.”
Stepping into the role alongside acting icon Dame Judi, Leslie admits to being a little intimidated by the whole endeavour.
“She’s a national treasure,” declares Leslie, “she’s the funniest, she’s the warmest, she’s the best.
“I shared a dressing room with her – well, it was one room separated by this paper partition thing, so I can hear everything – and because I was alone in my room and she was always with someone talking, I guess I was eavesdropping.
“She would have been more than happy to talk about things, I’m sure. But I was so intimidated by her, I didn’t want to bother her.
“I would just lie on my couch and listen to her beautiful, melodic voice – she’s going to think I’m such a creep!” Blithe Spirit is available now on Sky
Cinema.