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Seeking a distraction from the grim reality of war, Coward retreated to the countryside. The legend goes that he wrote Blithe Spirit in just five days while staying at the Amery family home. The title itself is drawn from Shelley’s poem "To a Skylark" ("Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! / Bird thou never wert"), a fitting reference for a play about a ghost who refuses to be tethered by the laws of physics.
When the play opened in the West End at the Piccadilly Theatre in July 1941, it provided the British public with exactly what they needed: a sophisticated, escapist comedy about death that wasn’t morbid, but hilarious. The production ran for 1,997 performances, setting a record for a straight play in the West End that stood for decades.