Noises Off

Company: New Wolsey Theatre

Venue: New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich

The cast of Noises Off

It’s a tricky thing, farce. Done badly, it can bore and often offend. Presented correctly, it can lift the spirits and entertain beautifully.

We are fortunate indeed, then, that Peter Rowe’s offering of the Michael Frayn classic, Noises Off, is performed with sublime comedic skill, for this has to be one of the most challenging pieces of the genre, requiring the most consummate of acting and split-second timing to pull it off convincingly.

This may be controversial, but one might suggest that Noises Off isn’t a farce at all; in fact it’s a brilliantly-crafted comedy about a farce and the difference isn’t just semantic.

Act One is the technical rehearsal of Otstar Productions’ Nothing On at Weston-Super-Mare and all is not going well for director Lloyd Dallas, his six actors and two technical crew. Lines aren’t learned, tempers are frayed, and actors AWOL. They’re all trying to muddle through but, beneath the thin veneer of professionalism, is a simmering cauldron of resentment that threatens to tear apart the production. For those who practice the performing arts at either amateur or professional level, this will be an all too familiar scenario. To complicate matters, several members of the company are having personal relationships, sometimes at the same time.

Headlining is West End veteran Rosemary Ashe as the actress Dotty Otley, who in turn plays batty housekeeper Mrs Clackett in a beautifully observed caricature. However, while Ashe is the “name”, this is very much an ensemble piece that would clearly fail with just one weak link and the entire cast puts in highly commendable and riveting performances.

By Act Two, Nothing On is in full swing and has moved to Ashton-Under-Lyne. By this time, we’re witnessing the goings on backstage as relationships between the cast and crew deteriorate. There are axes being wielded, strangulation, blunt instruments, and a very alarming looking cactus being introduced at inopportune moments. Will the company survive the carnage of the third act and a move on to Stockton-On-Tees? Probably not.

Noises Off has been widely described as “the funniest play ever written”. This may or may not be the case but Peter Rowe’s outing is full of chaos and slick one-liners delivered perfectly by a range of OTT characters.

Even for those – including this reviewer – whose tastes usually exclude farce, this production is a must-see and a perfect way to exorcise those late-winter demons.

PAUL COUCH

The Long Way Home

The cast of The Long Way Home

Company: Eastern Angles

Venue: Sir John Mills Theatre, Ipswich

This review was first posted in February 2010 

There is a germ of a decent idea in Eastern Angles’ first outing of 2010, but it’s disappointing that a company that produced such relevant work as the Margaret Catchpole series, Tithe War!, and Beyond The Breakers seems to have lost direction with The Long Way Home.

Renowned writer Charles Way can only have been having an off-day when he penned this dreary piece about an elderly Greek woman, returning to her roots, who discovers a feral boy living alone in a forest. She adopts the boy and the pair continues on their way, meeting as they go a succession of rice paper-thin supplementary characters.

The story is predictable and simplistic, the dialogue uninspiring and stilted. Not one unexpected plot twist bars the way of the unlikely allies from beginning to end and, after two hours, we are left feeling empty. It’s simply hard to care about what becomes of any of these people.

Amid all the mediocrity, there are several bright spots. Theo Devaney is impressive as the Dog-Boy, Andreas, bringing a warmth and joyousness to bear as his character grows in confidence and complexity from being found shivering and half-naked in a forest to living a full and active life with a new love at journey’s end.

Narrators James Bolt and Jumaan Short handle their multiple roles – including those of puppeteers – with passion and dynamism, bringing a much-needed vigour to the piece, but even they can’t redeem entirely the plodding nature of the proceedings.

Susan McGoun has too impressive a pedigree for anyone to accuse her of being incompetent at her craft; the problem here is that she is badly miscast and probably too rounded  an actor for the pedestrian Old Mother character that Charles Way has given her. Indeed, for a brief few moments during which she breaks out of the two-dimensional template, McGoun shows her much broader skill-set.

Mika Handley’s design palette is quirky with some nice touches and, apart from some clumsy transitions, Steve Cooney’s lighting works well.

The Long Way Home was not commissioned specifically for Eastern Angles; it seems to be targeted at young people and not entirely capable of sustaining the attention of an adult audience. One can only assume that it looked more engaging on paper.

This journey is in need of some grit for traction and a better quality compass.

PAUL COUCH