Noises Off

Posted by Chris Gregg at Wednesday, 22 November 2023 15:41

The 40th-anniversary production of Michael Frayn’s multi-award-winning farce, Noises Off is at Milton Keynes Theatre this week on its UK tour.

Since its 1982 debut, this play has been hailed as one of the greatest British comedies ever written and has been performed all over the world including five West End and three Broadway productions. Fans of The Play That Goes Wrong will see a lot of the inspiration here, as this show cleverly lifts the curtain to show the backstage antics alongside the actual farce being performed on stage as it follows a highy dysfunctional cast performing the show "Nothing On", a 'play within a play'.

After the first act, a shambolic final technical rehearsal in Weston-Super-Mare, the set is spun round to show the backstage area as we watch the cast silently gesturing to each other during an increasingly disastrous matinee performance in Ashton-Under-Lyme followed by their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

There's an all star cast with theatre and TV star Liza Goddard as Dotty Otley, former TV legend Matthew Kelly as Selsdon Mowbray and Peak Practice star Simon Shepherd as Lloyd Dallas alongside DC Titans star Lisa Ambalavanar as Brooke Ashton, Simon Coates as Frederick Fellowes, Lucy Robinson as Belinda Blair, Daniel Rainford as Tim Allgood, Dan Fredenburgh as Garry Lejeune, and Nikhita Lesler as Poppy Norton-Taylor.

This is a great production of a comedy classic with a talented cast who create some memorable moments. The chaos builds up slowly and the comedy is in the reactions of the characters as they deal with the growing anarchy around them. Matthew Kelly is brilliant as the staggering alcoholic Selsdon, repeatedly making his entrance through the window as a burglar, Liza Goddard brings a manically unhinged tone to her performance as Dotty, obsessing over a plate of sardines and Lisa Ambalavanar is brilliant as the overacting young actress Brooke.

Although it shows its age at times with a few jokes that are a bit shocking in 2023, this is a very entertaining show which still has audiences in hysterics by the end and anyone who has ever performed on stage will find it hilariously relatable.

Trailer