Noises Off at Theatre by the Lake Keswick Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Jo Hardy

Written and set in the 1980’s the show follows a group of actors who have come together to put on a badly written play/farce called “Nothing On”.

In the first act we watch the final rehearsal which is only hours away from the opening show, the director is shouting orders at the cast from his seat amongst the audience and getting very frustrated, as we are introduced to all the members of the cast we start to get the feeling that they may not be ready, some of them are at the end of their careers and there is a hint of tension between some of the actors. I found it a little bit difficult to follow the switch between actors being themselves in the “ Noises Off” play to being an actor in the “Nothing On “ play, and at the end of the first act I thought the show was ok, nothing special and maybe a little dated. I was wrong.

In the second act the play really came alive, during the interval the set had been turned around we were now watching the back stage area, we see that the relationship between the cast is falling apart. At the same time we see and hear glimpses of the show being performed to another audience, very cleverly because we’ve already watched a full rehearsal, it’s easy to follow what’s happening on stage whilst only seeing back stage. The high energy full farce is now on, there is so much happening, so many laugh out loud moments, things have to be kept quiet back stage so there’s lots of visual comedy and miming. The cast were all amazing, the whole stage was buzzing with energy, to say it is fast paced would be an understatement and I was on full alert so I didn’t miss a thing.

Then there was another set change back to the stage set of “Nothing On” but this time it was done in front of the audience and it was so interesting to see the stage technical teams at work doing a job that is usually hidden from the audience.

The third and final set is the play “Nothing On “ again but it’s getting to the end of the tour, they have all completely lost the plot, it’s complete mayhem and absolutely hilarious,

The cast of nine worked their socks off to give the audience laugh after laugh, their comedy timing was spot on and the visual comedy was excellent.

There is a saying that “laughter is the best medicine” after watching this I felt like I’d had the full medical and chuckled all the way home.

Suitable for ages 12 and up Noises Off is at Theatre by the Lake from 25th June to 26th July evening shows start at 7.30 with matinees on some dates, the show runs for 2 hours 25 mins including an interval with 3 acts and 2 scene changes. Ticket prices range from £12 to £42 and are available from theatrebythelake.com

There is a saying that “laughter is the best medicine” after watching this I felt like I’d had the full medical and smiled all the way home.

Rating: 5/5