Q: Jan, how did you approach the role of Elvira in Blithe Spirit?
A: The fact that Elvira is a ghost definitely factored into my work with her as a character. It not only affected her movements and physicality, but also her mental state. At first, it was important to have all the elements of discovery and rediscovery there. Not only is Elvira rediscovering the physical world all over again, she is discovering changes in her old home, in her husband’s life, and, of course, in his taste in women.
Having been dead for seven years, coming back to the land of the living is full of new fun and adventure for Elvira. She can be even more mischievous than she was alive, and she takes full advantage of it! I had a lot of fun developing the character, mixing it between all of Elvira’s experience in her life and a hint of the new things she’d learned on ‘the other side.’
