Chaos behind the scenes at Theatre by the Lake
I first saw this, “one of the greatest comedies ever written”, in the West End some years ago and remember feeling a little underwhelmed at the end of the first act. Yes, it was a jolly good farce, but greatness? Hmmm…
And then it happens, after the interval, the audience in such tears of laughter that there was the danger of a tidal flood wave sweeping down Shaftesbury Avenue, and I’ve been talking about Michael Frayn’s Noises Off ever since, and wondering what sort of company could translate it to the regional stage.
This one. It’s another magnificent collaborative production, TBTL this time working in conjunction with the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, and – fascinatingly – Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg. We do like European togetherness!
And “oui, c’est vrai, c’est l’une des plus grandes comédies jamais écrites”
“Yes, it’s true, it’s one of the greatest comedies ever written”
It’s a savage look behind the scenes at a doomed theatre company as they desperately struggle to keep their show together while everything around them falls apart. The set won’t work, the cast can’t remember their lines, and company rifts are growing. Is Lloyd sleeping with Brooke while Poppy is trying to tell him she’s having a baby? Who are the flowers actually for, and whose genius idea was it to substitute a cactus? And do actors really behave like this?
From that frantic last-minute rehearsal to disastrous silences, all culminating in a spectacularly calamitous final show, it’s all going terribly wrong – but the show must go on. And on. In places that in themselves sound funny for no reason: Lowestoft, Peebles, Stockton-on-Tees. And many congratulations to director Douglas Rintoul and his cast and creative team, because genuinely funny chaos demands immense energy and impeccable timing.
The entire cast here is tirelessly energetic, crazily chaotic.
How they remember lines, entrances, is anybody’s guess. Are they actually remembering them? Is this what really happens backstage? Who knows, who cares, we’re all too busy wiping our eyes.