Great Noises Both Off and On!
“Noises Off” is a tongue in cheek portrayal of Otstar Production’s fictitious production of “Nothing On” from the final Dress Rehearsal through to the final days of the subsequent tour. It shows the trials and tribulations encountered by the long suffering Director through to the romantic relationships that develop during the tour and the inevitable jealousies that ensue.
Farce such as this is not easy to perform, especially for amateurs, requiring a great deal of expert timing and pace. The Stag Theatre Company came up trumps, giving us a thoroughly entertaining evening. The very strong cast took the requirements of the piece very much to heart, playing the whole with panache.
Each member of the cast was as strong as the next, there not being a weak link in the acting or direction. Sue Johnson was a very dotty “Dotty”, sporting enough pearls to keep a duchess happy. My heart went out to Richard Morris as”Lloyd Dallas”, the Director, having experienced in my time at directing many of the things he had to go through! (I think Sandra would agree with me). The Estate Agent “Garry Lejeune”, Jamie Thomas, brings “Brooke Ashton”, Alexandra Sherman to the house with the intention of viewing more than just the property. Jamie’s knock about comedy was a joy to behold as was Alexandra’s “Brooke” but for rather different reasons! Well done both of you. Lynsey Moore made a very pretty and competent(?) Poppy Norton Taylor the ASM. Stuart McCreadie as “Frederick Fellows” and Anna Wood as “Belinda Blair” did very well as the tax fugitives on a visit from Spain. “Tim Allgood”, Chris Howland did his best to keep his sanity as the Stage Manager, Carpenter, Stand In and general dogsbody. Simon Walters as “Selsdon Mowbray” a well seasoned burglar, made a very convincing alchoholic, ( not too convincing I hasten to add), finding more and more ingenious places to hide bottles of scotch, but still managing to come on stage on cue, (almost). This last trait of his causing the “Director” to come forward with contingency plans culminating in three “burglars” appearing on stage at the same time!
The whole was very well directed by Sandra Barfield, the pace never flagging. The set was well designed if somewhat ponderous, of necessity. The Stage Crew are to be commended for the way the scenery was shifted.
All in all, an evening of great fun. Well done!
Lawrie Oxley NODA
Farce such as this is not easy to perform, especially for amateurs, requiring a great deal of expert timing and pace. The Stag Theatre Company came up trumps, giving us a thoroughly entertaining evening. The very strong cast took the requirements of the piece very much to heart, playing the whole with panache.
Each member of the cast was as strong as the next, there not being a weak link in the acting or direction. Sue Johnson was a very dotty “Dotty”, sporting enough pearls to keep a duchess happy. My heart went out to Richard Morris as”Lloyd Dallas”, the Director, having experienced in my time at directing many of the things he had to go through! (I think Sandra would agree with me). The Estate Agent “Garry Lejeune”, Jamie Thomas, brings “Brooke Ashton”, Alexandra Sherman to the house with the intention of viewing more than just the property. Jamie’s knock about comedy was a joy to behold as was Alexandra’s “Brooke” but for rather different reasons! Well done both of you. Lynsey Moore made a very pretty and competent(?) Poppy Norton Taylor the ASM. Stuart McCreadie as “Frederick Fellows” and Anna Wood as “Belinda Blair” did very well as the tax fugitives on a visit from Spain. “Tim Allgood”, Chris Howland did his best to keep his sanity as the Stage Manager, Carpenter, Stand In and general dogsbody. Simon Walters as “Selsdon Mowbray” a well seasoned burglar, made a very convincing alchoholic, ( not too convincing I hasten to add), finding more and more ingenious places to hide bottles of scotch, but still managing to come on stage on cue, (almost). This last trait of his causing the “Director” to come forward with contingency plans culminating in three “burglars” appearing on stage at the same time!
The whole was very well directed by Sandra Barfield, the pace never flagging. The set was well designed if somewhat ponderous, of necessity. The Stage Crew are to be commended for the way the scenery was shifted.
All in all, an evening of great fun. Well done!
Lawrie Oxley NODA