★ 8 / 10
The Fall and Rise of "Nothing's On!"
theowinthrop
I was lucky enough to catch the Broadway production of NOISES OFF in the 1980s with Dorothy Louden, Paxton Whitehead, and Linda Thornton (yes, "Tara King" from…
I was lucky enough to catch the Broadway production of NOISES OFF in the 1980s with Dorothy Louden, Paxton Whitehead, and Linda Thornton (yes, "Tara King" from THE AVENGERS), and enjoyed the weird construction of the deconstruction of a farce in three acts. I have to say that Michael Frayne's play was wonderful at showing the difficulties of producing a farce (in this case a third rate one), and the toll of repetitive performances and back-stage relationships have on the production crew and cast. Frayne thought of everything. At revivals now I don't know if they include it, but in my copy of the PLAYBILL, Frayne inserted a fake PLAYBILL giving the idiotic careers of the stars of the show and the director and his crew. It was as funny as the show was.
Farce is at once the most popular form of theater and it's most difficult. To work properly everything must be timed and in place for the sequences to fall into clockwork like movements to the conclusion. All countries produce them. France produced a master of them in Georges Feydeau (see HOTEL PARADISO). But the British love them and at their best they occupy much of the West End and the major theaters in the rest of the isles. Frayne, of course, having his background in the theater is aware of this. But he is also aware of the worse part of it - that because of the popularity of the form too many hacks put their poor wits to it, and really make it tiresome.
Such is the case with this particular farce in NOISES OFF (Frayne purposely gives it the name NOTHING'S ON as a counterpoint to the title of the actual play). From the beginning (when the cast are being directed by Lloyd Fellowes (Michael Caine)) we are gradually being aware that the author of NOISES OFF demolished a key portion of the play's plot to explain an additional confusion and twist in it (it explains why one character has to be disguised as an Arab sheik in the play - but now that bit of business is meaningless). There are also split second timing problems that increasingly mangle the jokes and situations due to backstage bickering. Watch for Carol Burnett's performance as the the housekeeper. As the play goes through more and more disastrous rehearsals and productions Burnett's Mrs. Clackett is slowly having a nervous breakdown over the word "sardine".
Frayne has sexual interrelationships backstage between the lead players (Burnett, Chris Reeve, Marilu Henner, John Ritter, Nicolette Sheridan) as well as the production staff (Caine, Mark Linn-Baker, Julie Haggerty) create so much confusion and poison as to threaten the very health of the audience (Caine at one point hearing call after call over the theaters intercom system that the curtain will be rising in five minutes runs backstage announcing the incipient panic among the elderly retirees watching the play). Add to all this Desmond Elliot (in one of his last roles) playing the critical role in the farce of a burglar (who is supposed to end up in bed with Burnett) is a happy alcoholic who constantly misses his cues and proper entrance points (particularly if he has another fast one before going on). At one point Caine, Linn-Baker, and Elliot end on stage in the same role at the same time, reciting the same lines to the other performers!
The play is destined for Broadway in five months. Will it survive the road tryouts? Will the cast and crew survive without killing each other off? Watch this very funny film to find out.
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7.4/10
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This movie is funny as hell.