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Noises Off is a funny, chaotic farce

Mayfield Dinner Theatre production features misfires and mayhem onstage and backstage.
0703 Mayfield Dinner Theatre - Noises Off_0312
Garry (Christian Murray) and Frederick (former St. Albert Children's Theatre actor Garett Ross) roll out the laughs in those highly awkward moments during Mayfield Dinner Theatre's current production of Noises Off. Ed Ellis Photography/Photo

REVIEW

Noises Off

Runs until March 29

Mayfield Dinner Theatre

16615-109 Ave.

Tickets: $84 to $105 Call 780-483-4051 or online at mayfieldtheatre.ca

If you’ve never seen Noises Off, it’s a wickedly funny play-within-a-play that showcases the chaos inside a second-rate theatre company as they rehearse and tour a frivolous sex farce titled Nothing On.

Although British playwright Michael Frayn stretches the slapstick silliness to the limit, it’s also a fairly observant look at the types of individuals who devote their careers to theatre.

In less experienced hands than those of director Jeremy Webb and the whip-smart cast, the fast paced choreography and rollicking jokes could easily fall flat. What impressed me was how the silly pratfalls, pranks and varied shenanigans came across as natural everyday life as opposed to being orchestrated for a few laughs.

Doors slam, noses bleed, pants drop, sardines fly, wine bottles are pinched, and actors slip and slide across the stage with clockwork precision.

The first act is a stop-and-start dress rehearsal. It’s the last rehearsal before opening night and the thespians are still flubbing lines, forgetting props and unsure of character motivations.

While the first act takes place on the theatrical set, the second act takes the audience backstage thanks to a revolving stage. And the second act, deliberately performed at a breakneck pace, is absolutely hilarious.

It’s the scene where actors’ weaknesses, jealousies, gossip mongering and revenge tactics explode during a performance. And by the third act, the cast is back on stage as the disastrous tour tarnished with love affairs and personal confrontations completely disintegrates.

Credit for this production’s success is due to the nine actors working at the top of their game. Mary-Colin Chisholm as Dotty, is superb as the fading star who sinks her hopes and money into one last big fling.

Cameron MacDuffee in the role of the impatient Lloyd, Nothing On's director, keeps everyone on edge wondering when his volcanic temper will explode at the dim-witted cast.

Former St. Albert Children’s Theatre actor, Garett Ross has a wonderful talent for playing neurotic characters. His Frederick is extremely likeable and charming, but with a complete lack of focus. And as the company hypochondriac, he nearly faints at the sight of his own nose bleeds.

At the other end of the spectrum, Christian Murray plays Garry, a pompous ball of insecurities both on stage and in his love life.

Kelly Holiff as Brooke, a wide-eyed dipsy blonde ingénue, shows more skin than brains while Patricia Zentilli as Belinda is perfectly delightful as the company gossip.

Dressed in black leathers and bandit’s toque, Tom Edwards captivates as Selsdon, a forgetful actor who enjoys a good tipple and misses cues.

At the edge of the actors’ feuds and shenanigans are the backstage crew – the harried stage manager Poppy (Gianna Vacirca) and the underappreciated odd job man Timothy (Ben Francis), who patiently put up with the cast’s theatrics and misfires.

Noises Off has been a comedy staple for 38 years standing the test of time as a laugh-generating machine. Just let yourself go with the flow. It plays at Mayfield Dinner Theatre until March 29.

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