What a farce!
Co-produced by Metro Theatre and First Impressions Theatre, Noises Off is on at Metro Theatre until March 31st. Michael Frayn’s fantastic farce thoroughly skewers theatre, with one of the most madcap, fast-paced comedy’s to ever grace stages.
The three-acts follow the company of Nothing On – the play-within-the-play – from dress rehearsal, to a mid-tour matinée, and finally a disastrous performance near the end-of-run, the production and company goes from bad to worse to utter shambles.
Claude Giroux nimbly directs the real company playing the fictional company, which includes Nothing On director Lloyd Dallas, played by Ryan Crocker with equal parts exasperation and despair. The players and stage crew create a mosaic of stereotypes and idiosyncrasies as they slam doors, and dodge sardines onstage and backstage. Veteran actress in need of a career revival Dotty, is played with by Tiffany Bishop delivering her lines as Mrs Clackett, the Nothing On housekeeper in her best Eliza Doolittle accent, Veronica Bonderun’s Brooke is the near-sighted ditzy blonde bombshell, Rebecca MacDonald plays slightly more stable but gossip-prone Belinda. Jonathon Connelly is the neurotic and hemophobia-suffering Freddie, while handsome leading man Garry, who can’t finish a sentence or thought succinctly is played by Matthew Ip Shaw. Hard-of-hearing and alcoholic senior actor Seldon is played by Peter Robbins. Backstage, Nothing On is barely held together by Poppy (Charity Principe) who can barely hold herself together, and the poor put-upon understudy-stagehand Tim (Elijah Bamberry).
In Act 1, we witness the unpolished dress rehearsal of a seemingly run of the mill, British sex-comedy of errors, but soon realize it’s worse, or better, than that – this is a hilarious pile of buffoonery. With Act 2, the set is flipped and we witness a performance of the show on tour, where the antics and anxieties are elevated to the extreme, but the company still attempts to maintain some semblance of professionalism for their craft whilst onstage. Backstage is another matter as the clashes turn physical and frantic, but with a performance happening on stage it becomes over-the-top silent movie era action in the wings. The Act 3 once again flips the set, and the audience witnesses the horror that have developed later in the Nothing On tour, professionalism is out the window, lines are forgotten, cues are missed and laughs are amplified.
This production of Noises Off creates a local company with mentions of nearby theatres and town we may know and love. While I don’t think it was necessary to add the local element, is does allow the cast, and audience, to distinguish between characters, with the the local Canadian Nothing On actors playing British characters. Listen for the front of house calls to find one local element that does make Noises Off perfect for Metro Theatre. While Noises Off can be confusing and ridiculous it is always a great ride, just forget your worries and hitch a ride on humour trolley.
Noises Off is onstage at Metro Theatre, 1370 SW Marine Drive, until March 31, 2024. For more information, showtimes and tickets visit metrotheatre.com/noises-off