At the outbreak of the Second World War theatres were temporarily closed by government decree. When they were permitted to reopen, a few weeks later, "Ladies in Retirement" resumed its run until the theatre was hit by a bomb in 1940. It did not reopen until March 1941. A brief season of ballet was followed by a Shakespeare and Ben Jonson season by Donald Wolfit and his company. In mid-1942 Coward's "Blithe Spirit" transferred from the Piccadilly Theatre; Coward took over the role of Charles Condomine from Cecil Parker prior to taking the play on tour. Wolfit and his company returned at the end of 1942 and played into the following year. Williams's adaptation of "A Month in the Country" starring Michael Redgrave ran for 313 performances for most of 1943. It was followed by Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Niggers", which ran for 260 performances, interrupted when a bomb severely damaged the theatre in February 1944: the production moved temporarily to the Cambridge Theatre, returning in May to complete its run. Of productions of the later 1940s, few made much impression, with the exception of "Adventure Story" by Terence Rattigan (1949), starring Paul Scofield as Alexander the Great. The reviews were respectful, but the play ran for less than three months.