NOISES OFF, LAUGHS ON
Just in time for the holiday season, Lyric Stage Company of Boston has something for audiences eager for some silly fun. Written by Michael Frayn the quintessential farce (within a farce) is a true ensemble piece about an amateur acting troupe presenting Nothing On, the name of the play within the play Noises Off . We see it from multiple perspectives: Act I is the panicked dress rehearsal; Act II is the first act of Nothing On from backstage; and finally, in Act III, we see the hilariously disastrous result of the accumulated errors and tensions as the tour is growing old.
The “star” of this play is surely the set by Erik D. Diaz, a complex arrangement of doors and windows surrounding a comfortable living room that transforms into a backstage setting and back again during the intermissions. The many doors in the set play a role: not only do they allow multiple entrances and exits, they don’t always work as required, offering yet another source of humor in a laugh-packed evening.
The play opens with Dotty Otley (Amy Barker) playing housekeeper Mrs. Clackett, stepping onto the stage to answer a ringing telephone. It’s her afternoon off, and she has come to enjoy her favorite television show in the empty house while her employers are in Spain, evading taxes. We quickly realize that Dotty is rehearsing for Nothing On, because she wonders aloud whether she is meant to take the plate of sardines upon exiting or leave them on the table. Director Lloyd Dallas (Lewis D. Wheeler) offers direction from off-stage, reminding her to leave the sardines after replacing the telephone receiver, a stage direction Dotty struggles to remember.
Mrs. Clackett is soon joined by Garry Lejeune (Joseph Marrella) playing estate agent Roger, and Brooke Ashton (Grace Experience) playing his ditzy companion Vicki. These two have come to what they thought would be an empty house for an afternoon tryst. It’s not long before Belinda Blair (Samantha Richert) and Frederick Fellows (Michael Jennings Mahoney), playing Philip and Flavia, the owners of the house, show up. They are taking a little vacation from their self-imposed exile in Spain. They also expect the house to be empty, and it initially appears to be so because Roger and Vicki are in a bedroom. Philip and Flavia tell Mrs. Clackett that she’s not to tell anyone she’s seen them. The housekeeper struggles to collude with her employers as Garry and Brooke suspect that there is someone else in the house. No one in the house at this point is supposed to be in the house. A would-be burglar Selsdon Mowbray (Chip Phillips) only adds to the mayhem.
Throughout the rehearsal, where Eliza Fichter is stage manager Poppy Norton-Taylor and Dan Garcia is the put-upon crew member Tim Allgood. mishaps occur with contact lenses popping out, bloody noses, fainting fits, and drinking problems as plates of sardines disappear, reappear, and proliferate, leading to suspicions of paranormal activity.
Act II, backstage at a performance of Nothing On, brings an impressive series of synchronized tosses and catches of props, including a cactus, an axe, and various sheets and articles of clothing. The cast is a couple of weeks into their run. Everyone knows their lines and cues. The problem now lies in the real drama: There are uncomfortable revelations about romantic entanglements and misguided efforts to assuage hurt feelings, all good material for comedy. The gloves are off for all the silent feuding and attacks going on literally behind-the-scenes as the show must go on for the unseen audience.
Under Ilyse Robbins’ direction, we are treated to outstanding physical comedy and split-second timing. One can only imagine the number of real rehearsals it took to have this many actors timing everything perfectly, and pulling it off beautifully. Cast members contort themselves to search for a missing contact lens, pants fall down, and then more pants fall down. By the time Act III rolls around, Nothing On is a hopeless mess. The sardines fly as interpersonal conflicts, confusing stage directions, and attempts to cover up shortcomings all result in a wacky, zany, and totally entertaining Noises Off.
photos by Mark S. Howard
Noises Off
Lyric Stage Company
140 Clarendon Street in Boston
ends on December 22, 2024
for tickets, call 617.585.5678 or visit Lyric
