Noises Off
©Nobby Clark
nobby@nobbyclark.co.uk
If you ever saw a Brian Rix Whitehall farce, or have been involved in the machinations of an amateur dramatic production or, let’s be honest, a professional theatre company, then you will no doubt be familiar with the door slamming and trouser dropping joy that is Michael Frayn’s Noises Off. What can to to the unfamiliar seem far fetched and silly is only too real as the drama of total mayhem unfolds. Frayn captures it all, the petty squabbles, complex romantic entanglements, egos, self doubt and pure fear – they’re all there to be milked to heightened comic effect.
Of course getting things right when they need to go wrong requires incredible skill and this finely tuned company do just that, they get going wrong seem easy when of course it is not. It requires not only being word perfect, in a script riddled with wrong lines and wrong directions, it also requires precise timing, accurate placing and a level of physical agility that at times is breathtaking.
In other words it requires a truly talented cast of great all-rounders. This we get. Felicity Kendal is delightful as the dotty Dotty Otley once more showing her genuine comedic skills. Joseph Millson triumphs in the demandingly physical role of Garry Lejeune, throwing himself into a part that require him to throw himself around the set with abandon. Alexander Hanson falls beautifully apart as his hopeless cast disintegrate and his philandering ways catch up with him. Sasha Frost tackles the role of the terrible Brooke, clearly cast from the couch rather than for her talent, in the role that is. And Pepter Lunkuse as Poppy and Hubert Burton as Tim fly around dealing with the ensuing mess created by the company.
Jonathan Coy is suitably serious as the consummate but bewildered pro in the team, always questioning, and Matthew Kelly once again shows that he is an actor of real skill as the bumbling alcoholic Selsdon, an actor way past his sell by date.
I have a particular liking for Tracy-Ann Oberman who never fails to amuse and here she is at her best as the delightfully camp luvvie Belinda Blair, drifting around the stage in a flowing magenta frock that could at any moment get tangled in a brilliantly busy set, yet never once missing a line or a move.
This timeless play denies the truth that it is 40 years old this year and despite having seen it now four times I can honestly say that it never fails to delight and that I hope to see it many more times, especially if it carries a cast as good as this.
Andrew Kay
Theatre Royal Brighton
18/10/22
Rating:
