Review: NOISES OFF, New Wolsey Theatre

“This is getting farcical!”

As someone who first got into the world of British Comedy through Mischief Theatre, particularly The Play That Goes Wrong, it has been quite the fascinating journey to travel back in time through the history of British comedy, including the iconic Noises Off, which has opened at New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich. This is a new production of the play, which was written by Michael Frayn in 1982, now directed by Douglas Rintoul in collaboration with Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Theatre by the Lake. 

For those unfamiliar with the show, it follows a group of actors as they put on the play Nothing On, a farce of its own with one of the major props in the show being a plate of sardines. The play within a play is directed by Lloyd Dallas (Harry Long), a frustrated man who is more than willing to take his anger out on the actors he sees as being far below him. As one might expect from a show that was one of the inspirations for The Play That Goes Wrong, everything . . . goes wrong, leading to some hilarious moments with a range of interesting characters. Set and Costume Designer Clio Van Aerde has built a set that feels like it would fit right in on the set of a sitcom from the 1970s, cheesy music and audience laughter included. 

All of the performers in the production are brilliant, each bringing their own comedic flair to the show. Long is great as the straight man, often observing the show from the audience and commenting down like an angry god smiting mortals. Hilary Maclean is a sweet Dotty Otley, who is playing the housekeeper in the show but actually has a relationship with a younger actor in the play, Garry Lejeune (George Kemp). Kemp himself has some of the more difficult physical bits in the show but does them with ease, leading to several moments of applause from the audience. On the other side of the movement spectrum, the character of Brooke Ashton (Ailsa Joy) has a tendency to simply lie down and meditate, which is done perfectly by Joy, who moves like a Barbie doll throughout the show. 

Hisham Abdel Razek and Claire-Louise English are quite the pair as Frederick “Freddie” Fellowes, a man who gets a bloody nose at violence and faints at the sight of blood (you can imagine how many gags this leads to) and Belinda Blair, another “straight man” character who can be seen as the opposite side of the coin to Lloyd’s rage, using calming techniques instead of yelling to try to help her fellow performers. And Russell Richardson quite nearly steals the show as Selsdon Mowbray, the older actors with a tendency to disappear on the hunt for an alcoholic drink. The drama continues offstage, however, with the nervous Stage Manager Tim Allgood (Ezra Alexander) and the exasperated Assistant Stage Manager Poppy Norton-Taylor (Gemma Salter) dealing with problems of their own, including the terrifying fact that they may have to take to the stage as understudies. 

Even though it’s a bit unusual to see in plays these days, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the ten-minute pause between the final two acts. There is a flyer outside of the theatre doors with a message requesting that audience members stay in their seats between Acts Two and Three, with the lovely message of “we ask that you remain seated and watch our brilliant stage management and technical teams work their magic!” Indeed, it is delightful to watch the team completely turn the set around, and all of the crew fully deserve the roar of applause they receive at not only the start of Act Three but the bows - it is a nice touch to include them!

One creative who should be lauded with praise? Haruka Kuroda, the Fight, Movement and Intimacy Director. In a show like Noises Off, things may look absolutely chaotic to the audience but everything is well-choreographed, ensuring quality and safety for every performance. Kuroda does a fantastic job of making the movements on stage look silly while ensuring that the play moves like a well-oiled machine as the world seems to fall apart for the characters on stage. 

As one might expect from a comedy from the 1980s, there are some outdated references, including the fact that there is a woman who is portrayed as unintelligent and is mostly used for her looks. It would be interesting to see what changes could be made in future productions to change these potentially problematic aspects. There are a few times that the actors stumble over their lines, but in a show like this it’s something that’s easy to hide.

Noises Off is a fun new production of the classic farce that will have audience members laughing until they cry at the antics on stage.

Noises Off runs until 24 May at New Wolsey Theatre.