Which British playwright wrote 'Blithe Spirit'?

Coward wrote 'Blithe Spirit' during the Second World War, which some critics say is his greatest work. The play was first seen in the West End in 1941 and was recently adapted into a film starring Dame Judi Dench (born 1934) as Madame Arcati, an eccentric medium and clairvoyant. The main character, novelist Charles Condomine, invites Madame Arcati to a séance in the hope it will provide material for his new book. Instead, the ghost of Condomine’s ex-wife appears during the session and endeavours to ruin his marriage to his second wife.

Noël Pierce Coward was born in Teddington, south-west London, on 16th December 1899. Coward received little formal education but started appearing in amateur plays from the age of seven. His mother encouraged his passion for the stage and sent him to a dance academy in London, despite low family funds. In 1911, Coward received his first professional acting role in 'The Goldfish' by Lila Field.

Coward’s first full-length play was 'I’ll Leave It to You', which opened in the West End in 1920. It received mixed reviews, and Coward returned to acting for a couple of years. His first real success as a playwright occurred in 1923 with 'The Young Idea', in which he also starred. Coward’s first financial success, on the other hand, was with 'The Vortex' (1924), a play about a nymphomaniac socialite and her cocaine-addicted son.

Coward suffered from heart failure on 26th March 1973 and passed away at his home in Jamaica.