I'll Sell You This Play In 29 Words! (Noises Off)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Noises Off
Date:	27/10/08 (462 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very clever and funny play with an excellent cast

Disadvantages: None!

Have you ever loved a play so much, that you decide to go back and see it all again the next day? Then book for the following Thursday too?

That's what hubby and I did with Noises Off. We saw it in Cardiff last Friday and Saturday and are going to Malvern this week.

Let me tell you more...

Being fans of the actor Colin Baker, we try to see him in as many of his plays as we can, usually travelling to Bath or Cheltenham. But as it was my birthday on October 23rd, we thought we'd go to Cardiff for a change, as Colin was in Noises Off at the New Theatre there.

I didn't know anything much about the play before. I had heard of it and knew it was written by Michael Frayn, but otherwise, nothing. It was to be a night of surprises - the first one being the words on the stage curtain changing from 'Noises Off' to 'Nothing On'. I was intrigued...

ACT ONE

We see a fairly standard theatre set - the inside of quite a nice house, two-storey with a staircase and several doors, a sofa, TV, big window and small table. We meet Dotty, the housekeeper of said house, who starts by answering the phone.

Soon, we realise this is a cast rehearsing for a play called Nothing On, which opens the following day. We meet the director, Lloyd, who appears from the back of the stalls and goes onto the stage to sort out the problems of the actors and the set.

This act is fairly straight-forward. We meet the cast and begin to get to know them - both as their character's name and the part they are playing in the play. (This can get confusing! For example, actress Laura Matthews plays Brooke, who is Vicki in Nothing On!)

This act is clever, witty, interesting and funny - but not hilarious. The whole play builds up well from the slight tittering of the first act to the hysterical guffawing of the third!

ACT TWO

This is the cleverest act in many ways. The set is reversed, so we now view the back of it. It is a month after the dress rehearsal of the first act and there are plenty of tensions between the cast. We find out about various affairs going on and who has feelings for who and all the conflicts, tensions, jealousy and rivalry coming out of them.

As we see the cast performing Nothing On from a rear view, we are privy to the backstage chaos. This is an act full of physical comedy, especially an impressive array of intricate and fast-moving throwing of props. There is so much going on, that it is hard to know where to look - ideal for repeat viewings!

ACT THREE

The final act sees the set back the right way, as it was for the first act. This is a further two months later and by this time, most of the cast and crew are feuding, so they try to trip each other up (often quite literally), while still somehow performing the play.

Again, this is performed at a great pace, ensuring the audience is never bored. By this part, I had tears streaming down my face with laughter and I was full of admiration for the actors and how brilliantly they coped with everything. It must be so hard to remember the script as well as all the running up and down stairs, through doors and windows, while dealing with various props - especially bags, boxes, whisky bottles and plates of sardines.

THE CAST AND CHARACTERS

Now you have an idea of what the play is like, let me tell you about the cast.

Maggie Steed plays Dotty Otley, who is the housekeeper Mrs Clackett in Nothing On. Dotty is a bit of a luvvie, contrasting with her role as working class housekeeper with her headscarf and her desire to watch the 'Royal wotsit' on telly.

Liza Sadovy plays Belinda Blair, who is Flavia Brent in Nothing On, the owner of the house the play is set in. Flavia is upper class, rather a 'jolly hockey sticks' kind of character, but fun and lovable.

Richard Hope plays Frederick Fellowes - Philip Brent in Nothing On, Flavia's husband. Philip is a fairly quiet and practical man, while Freddie is prone to nosebleeds - and fainting at the sight of blood!

Colin Baker plays Selsdon Mowbray, who is the burglar in Nothing On. While Selsdon is a long established actor, he is now an alcoholic, so the cast and crew have to watch him. He can be inclined to disappear and can't be trusted around bottles of whisky!

Ben Hull plays Garry Lejeune, who is Roger Tramplemain, who brings his girlfriend to the house to hopefully impress her into bed. While Roger is flash and showy, out to impress, Garry is almost as confident, but inclined to jealous rages.

Laura Matthews plays Brooke Ashton, who is Vicki, Roger's girlfriend. Vicki is fun, lively, pretty and bubbly, while Brooke is a dizzy blonde who regularly loses a contact lens.

Besides these, who make up the cast, of Nothing On, we have the crew.

Jonathan Coy plays Lloyd Dallas, the director of Nothing On. He expects hard work and is always stressed and conscious of time. He is educated, efficient and a bit of a babe magnet in his spare time!

Sophie Bould plays Poppy, who is the assistant stage manager and general dogsbody. She is quiet, mousey, shy and emotional. She is reliable and willing to help, but gets upset easily.

Ben Allen plays Tim Allgood, who is the stage manager, understudy and general dogsbody. He is shy, helpful and always has good intentions, but works far too hard.

It is very hard to fault any of the cast, as they are all brilliant in these most challenging of roles. We went especially to see Colin Baker and he was excellent as the drunken old pro, the lovable but slightly irritating Selsdon. He emerges from the back of the stalls and the second time we saw the play, we were looking for him. From the moment he arrives, you can see he's in character, with the slightly-too-wide smile that suggests a tad too much booze and a touch of senility.

Besides watching Colin, our attention was soon drawn to Ben Hull, who is outstanding as Garry and Roger. He has a very physical role and his energy is amazing. We met him afterwards and he had his fingers strapped up from an injury he had sustained from the play. (Colin had been injured too.)

Ben Allen is also a very impressive actor, the kind that can convey a whole heap of emotions in a shrug, a hand gesture or a look. We knew exactly when Tim was feeling awkward, stressed or embarrassed and we felt sorry for him. He connected beautifully with the audience and has a talent that deserves the best roles for many years.

The cast is a good mixture of older established stars and relative newcomers. Noises Off is Laura Matthews' first professional role, but you wouldn't know it, she holds her own expertly. She provides the eye candy for the blokes in the audience too, as she performs most of the play in sexy black undies!

After the play, we met the cast, got autographs from them and had photos taken with them. Everyone was really lovely. We had a nice chat with Colin the first night, but missed him on the Saturday and Ben Hull kindly asked the theatre staff where he might be, despite it being a rainy night and they were all rushing off home for the weekend.

When we go to see the play in Malvern, we are taking two of the kids with us as well, as I'm sure they'll enjoy it. It is the kind of play that is so brilliant, so much fun and so hilarious, that you want all your friends and family to see it.

If it's anywhere near you, do go. You'll have a ball! Check the official site for tour dates. After Malvern, it's going to Milton Keynes, Wimbledon, Bromley and Bradford.


OFFICIAL 2008 TOUR WEBSITE

http://www.noisesoff.co.uk/

Also, Laura Matthews has a Facebook group called "Noises Off National Tour (& my first job!)".

Summary: An excellent play - well worth seeing!