'Noises' is Off and On

UPDATED: November 10, 2015, at 10 p.m.

The publicity posters for “Noises Off,” which the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club is producing in Farkas Hall Nov. 6-15, boast that it is “frequently called the funniest farce ever written.” It follows, then, that most productions of the play, including this one, aim less at exploring the human condition or pushing the boundaries of the medium than at creating laughs. Director Boyd I.R. Hampton ’16 presents the farce as straightforwardly as possible; although this focuses attention on the actors and their hilarious physical comedy, it also makes for theater so unambitious that it loses some of its interest.

“Noises Off” depicts a group of incompetent, overworked, and occasionally hateful people disastrously putting on their own farce, “Nothing On.” Although the play is originally set in 1980s England, Hampton’s version takes place in contemporary America. This decision takes the form of changing “Stockton-on-Tees” to “Buffalo,” adding an iPhone, and dropping most of the English accents; its intent is unclear. Since the play is presented otherwise wholly traditionally—the program thanks “unnoticeable lighting,” done by Eliza B. Mantz ’18—the update feels like an obligatory attempt at a twist. It adds neither relevance nor humor, especially because some of the show’s fun derives from its accents and English silliness.

In fairness, even if these changes don’t enrich, they don’t offend. Because “Noises Off” doesn’t try to be anything more than a good time, it is a highly enjoyable show. The play’s high-energy buffoonery demands much from its cast, and they deliver: They storm and flail around the stage so convincingly that they broke multiple set pieces on opening night. In particular, James M. Graham ’17 brings vitality and vitriol to the razor-sharp and egotistical director Lloyd Dallas; Brooke E. Sweeney ’17’s comic timing as the forgetful actress Dotty Otley adds a hapless, bitter wit to the otherwise-lowbrow hilarity; and Juan E. Bedoya ’16 impresses as a tearful stage manager.

To Hampton’s credit, he moves the play’s three acts along briskly enough that the show never drags, even in its exhaustingly chaotic second act, which takes place backstage and for which the stage is rotated 180 degrees. The jealousies and love triangles among the actors in “Nothing On” lead to misplaced props, missed cues, and multiple attempted murders, and the cast of “Noises Off” must tell most of that story through pantomime. It is a challenging choreographic task, but Hampton, fight choreographer Danielle T. Lessard ’16—who also plays actress Belinda Blair—and the cast execute it admirably.

Mantz, who also (excellently) plays assistant stage manager Poppy Norton-Taylor, indeed lights the show nearly unnoticeably. The set, designed by Hampton and Dylan J. Peterson ’17, is similarly inconspicuous, at least until it rotates for the second act. And the costumes, designed by Sweeney and Aislinn E. Brophy ’17, aim at the generic. These decisions seem unified by a sort of minimalism-by-normality, a total de-emphasis on the elements of theater that aren’t script and acting. Unfortunately, the resulting staging is so unobtrusive that it becomes bland. The raison d’être of “Noises Off” may be comedy for its own sake, but these production decisions combine with the contemporary American setting for a certain sterility that undermines the raucous, raunchy humor of the script they’re meant to highlight.

However, it feels unfair to accuse the “funniest farce ever written” of not taking the artistic considerations of capital-T Theater seriously enough. After all, Frayn’s script celebrates, albeit perversely, the absurdities of the world of theater. The salient element of the HRDC’s “Noises Off” is not its dramaturgy or staging but that it is really funny. Whatever its disappointments, it creates a delightful two and a half hours at the theater, accomplishing exactly what it set out to do—although nothing more.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to disclose that the author of this story had auditioned for the production reviewed.