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A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.
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Noises Off by Michael Frayn, is directed by Lindsay Posner and stars: Liza Goddard, Matthew Kelly and Simon Shepherd. Described as a play within a play, this is a very clever production where you feel that you are inside the cast, and one of their audience, as they are performing a play that all goes terribly wrong!
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This is a wonderful farce that induces laughter throughout. It is very well acted with an amazing cast including Lisa Goddard, who was recently up here performing in Relatively Speaking (https://5d-blog.com/relatively-speaking-at-his-majestys-theatre-aberdeen/) which was also quite a comedic piece about the relationships between people. In Noises Off they are touring with and performing a play called Nothing On, or at least trying to! Lisa plays Dotty Otley the actress portraying Mrs Clackett in the play. The programme, printed by John Good Limited, includes the programme for the fictional play, complete with pictures of the sardines which are a key prop. This is a very clever way of doing things and a nice keepsake to take away at the end of the night.
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The set starts off as the stage for Nothing On which is a house with the lounge downstairs and a staircase up to the bedroom and bathroom doorways. This is where the majority of the action happens. The play is based on various people making use of a seemingly empty house and the comings and goings between them. Meanwhile you get some insight into the relationships that are happening between the actors performing the play, and it all culminates in a most hysterical fashion.
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Lisa Ambalavanar plays Brooke Ashton, who in the play is Vicki, a young lady there for some fun upstairs with the house letting agent. She spends much of the time in some pretty lingerie and is really quite hilarious as the pretty bimbo! Her partner in crime is Simon Shepherd, playing Lloyd Dallas the letting agent who ends up in so many slapstick incidents that you have to admire his athleticism. Lucy Robinson playing Belinda Blair, who in the play is Flavia Brent the houseowner, stole the show for me with her hilarious positive outlook and dedication to making sure “the show must go on” even in the face of various adversities!
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There was a standing ovation at the end and so much laughter, it was probably the complete release from normal life that we all need at the moment. Go along and have a laugh, you will not regret it!
Further information and tickets: https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/whats-on/noises-off/
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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.
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