Noises Off at The Poole Lighthouse Theatre Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Mel S-W
Never have I laughed so hard at a play. The show only works because the actors are just so spot on with their comic timing. The chemistry and experience is just there! Its just brilliant.
I was so excited to get tickets for Noises Off. The show was recommended to me by a friend so I waited for curtain up with anticipation. This has been on my theatre watch list for a very long time and we always seem to miss it. With this show being right on our doorstep I was over the moon!
We had a short drive over from Bournemouth and chose to park in any one of the local carparks near to the Poole Lighthouse. All of which are in close proximity to the theatre. The Poole Lighthouse has an amazing array of shows coming to the theatre. It is modern and easy to navigate around and it doesn’t feel too overwhelming. It has less than 700 seats which makes any shows there quite intimate and there is always a good view from wherever you sit.
With eight showings it was great being in the auditorium for the opening night. There was a real buzz of anticipation with some members of the audience – like us – unaware of the full extent of what was going to happen in the next 2 or so hours. The theatre quickly filled up with the audience being a variety of ages. We were seated in K22 & K23. The seats had plenty of leg room but the seats themselves are quite narrow.
So, what does Noises Off actually mean? In theatre terms “noises off” means that all background noises either backstage or in the wings is kept to a minimum. This was a performance like no other … expect noise, chaos, drama and side splitting humour that’s what Michael Frayn was intending. I’ve never been to a show where lines were forgotten, their staging, their props …. oh and it’s all about the sardines, boxes and bags!!
It’s one of those shows where I don’t feel that I can give away too much of what you will see and spoil the show for you. You just simply have to go and see if to understand why it is so good! What I can say is that the show follows a theatre production of a play called “Nothing On” from just before their opening night in Weston-Super-Mare and follows their trials and tribulations (which eventually take their toll) until their final performance at Stockton on Tees. The set, features a grand house that’s owned by “The Brent’s” who are meant to be hiding out in Spain to avoid the taxman, but they have snuck back to the UK for their anniversary. But, they aren’t the only ones who have snuck into the house for a bit of time alone! As the play unfolds, you get to see tensions arising between the cast members onstage. This all comes to a head in the second half, when the set is turned around, you are transported backstage and treated to a behind the scenes look at the love triangles that are unfolding. I found it fascinating seeing what the set would look like from the back and how the actors move around the set.
Noises Off stars some well known names but as I said the show only works because the actors work so well together. A stand out for me was Garry (played by Dan Fredenburgh) who really threw everything into his role, his character’s sanity really quite humorously deteriorated throughout the show. Liza Goddard, known for her role in Bergerac created a ditzy character in Dotty who struggled to remember whether its was a phone, a plate of sardines or a newspaper she was meant to be holding in her hands, her character evolved (or devolved) as the show went on. And not forgetting Matthew Kelly… now I grew up watching Matthew Kelly through 90s gameshows such as You Bet! but I have never seen him in a stage show. I thought we would see more of him in the show, but when he was on the stage, boy did you know it. Playing Selsdon who had a bit of an alcohol issue, he delivered some well timed/badly timed lines that caused a huge wave of laughter across the audience. Simon Shepherd “directed” the cast of Nothing On throughout, dealing with the dramas, trying not to lose his cool, and an unfortunate scene with a cactus! I have never sat in an audience and had so many people laughing around me, all the way though with a standing ovation very well deserved! There was just so much going on on the stage but it was just executed brilliantly! I just hope the actual director didn’t have the same issues during the production!
I don’t normally remark on the programme for a show but I really liked how it was a programme in a programme. It not only held the actors details but also a backstory and blurb about the characters they would play in Nothing On the stage show. It was great to see the humour brought through into the programme.
This show is simply one to add to your own theatre watchlists and is well up there with being one of the funniest, well timed comedies that had me and the rest of the audience laughing, longing for it to never end. I want to say a big THANK YOU to The Poole Lighthouse for bringing this show to us! It was just amazing!
Noises Off is at the Lighthouse Arts and Entertainment Poole until 14th October.
Tickets can be purchased from £25 at the Lighthouse website https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/ or you can call their Box Office on 01202 280000
Lighthouse Arts and Entertainment 21 Kingland Road Poole Dorset BH15 1UG
I would give the show a 5/5 and would definitely recommend it. There are still 7 shows remaining at the Lighthouse with the last show on 14th October.
Rating: 5/5
https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/event/noises-off/