Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 3 February 2024
Reviewed by Louise Ford
4****
When you haven’t got a leg or sardine to stand on!
The bedroom farce has long been a mainstay of the British theatre, all mistaken identity, frustration, too many doors and the importance of timing. Noises Off by Micheal Frayne takes this idea and exploits all of these elements from both the front and back of the stage.
It’s a show in three acts. The curtain rises on what transpires to be the final, not technical, rehearsal for a show due to open in less than 24 hours. The cast and company are an interesting collection of amusing theatrical archetypes; the sardonic womanising director Lloyd Dallas (Simon Shepherd); the “bimbo” Brooke Ashton (Lisa Ambalavanar); the alcoholic old boy Selsdon Mowbray (Paul Bradley); the neurotic leading man Gary Lejeune (Dan Fredenburgh); the forgetful ageing actor Frederick Fellowes (Simon Coates); the eternal optimist Belinda Blair (Lucy Robinson) and keeping the show together, and feeding the lines, are the overworked stage crew Poppy Norton-Taylor (Nikita Lesler) and good old Tim Allgood (Daniel Rainford).
The star of the show is Dotty Otley (Lisa Goddard), who is playing the house keeper Mrs Clackett, she has invested heavily in the show . She seems to have terrible trouble with not only her lines but also her props and the other members of the cast.
Act II takes us backstage to see how the show looks from behind. The pace picks up as the play and the actors start to fall apart. However as they are all consummate professionals they strive to keep the noise down. The action is ramped up and the dialogue is dialled down as the actors are reduced to miming
The final Act, where we are back out front, is when it all comes crashing down. The scene where Garry Lejeune has his shoelaces tied together and bounces up and down the stairs is both exhausting and hilarious. And when he tumbles exhausted down the stairs it is an acting master class.
On a personal note it was great to see a,now historic reference, to the old tax rules relating to UK tax legislation for determining the tax residence status of individuals who had moved overseas to avoid paying UK tax. Oh the good old days of the 91 day rule!
I know that there is a whole catalogue of plays about “things going wrong” in the theatre and if I’m honest I don’t tend to find them particularly amusing. However Noises Off is the grand parent of these productions and has stood the test of time. Whilst it is a farce, the action and timing are impeccable. It speeds up to a veritable sprint in the final act and finally brings the curtain down!