Noises Off

If anyone wanted to see a display of excellent timing and transmitting pure enjoyment of what they were doing on stage, then this performance of ‘Noises Off’ was the performance to see. The play was well cast and the energy on stage was great.

The stage at the Lytton Theatre though small, managed to give the illusion of space and height and allowed the actors enough freedom of movement to make the whole experience convincing.

The play opens with Mrs. Clackett (Linda Friis) setting the scene on the final dress rehearsal of the play “Nothing On” and also dealing with sardines, an important prop within the action. Mrs Clackett did an excellent job of linking and moving on the action. Accent was good and there was a marked difference between her Clackett voice and her Dotty Otley voice. I would have liked to see a bit more of the Diva in Dotty but never the less both characters were convincing.

The director (Ben Willis) displayed true directorial behavior when faced with a cast of rep’ players who just don’t see his vision and his timing and delivery of the frustration he felt was commendable.

Garry Lejeune (Dave Woolley) never stopped. He ran up and down stairs, in and out of doors – exhausting, and an excellent amusing performance. Well done.

Brooke Ashton (Grace Maynard) spent 90% of her time on stage wearing some of the most stunning and well fitting underwear I have ever seen. I was in awe of her ability to go from crawling around the floor searching for her contact lens to holding doors closed with a foot and hand. Not a blonde but dizzy as required. A stunning performance.

Frederick Fellowes (Andreas Georgiou) appeared confident with all of the slapstick and timing was very good indeed.

Belinda Blair (Jaysica Marvell) his wife, kept her cool most of the time with the occasional nervous little laugh that confirmed to the audience that much longer with this band of players she might lose the will to live!!

Poppy Norton-Taylor (Amy Louise Vince), the long suffering Stage Manager, brought lots of humor with her characterization – she milked all the comedy of her character both by her physical stance and timing and great facial expressions and body language. Quietly understated, this was a strong performance.

Tim Allgood (Johnny Wing) was quietly efficient as the part demanded. 

Selsdon Mowbray (Bob Sage) played the drunken burglar superbly. He had no problem eliciting lots of laughs from the audience and again timing was spot on.

“Noises Off” is no walk in the park for an amateur society and I commend their young director Michelle Airey for taking up the challenge.

Well done, a thoroughly enjoyable performance.

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