Sex farce is serious fun

Without naming names, “Noises Off” reads the theater community like a book.

This play, written by Michael Frayn in 1982, is as much about goofy accents, dirty jokes and slapstick humor as it is a callout of the culture behind the curtains. He came up with the idea while watching another one of his plays from the wings and thought the pandemonium backstage was funnier than the plot.

Between acts, the set is rotated to reveal how the audience perceives the production of “Nothing On,” the name of the fictional play, and the hidden version happening backstage.

The play’s plot is less important than the way its cohesion evaporates. In the single act that is explored three times, “Nothing On” disintegrates into pure chaos as the relationships between actors begin to fray.

Beneath the silliness is a nuanced perspective of the very real issues that everyone in the theater industry likely experiences.

It is worth paying attention to, especially for the many lines that set up later jokes and foreshadow the plot. In the first act, director Lloyd (Brenton James Warren) tells the assistant manager and understudy Tim (Silvester Guadarrama) to order two extra burglar costumes in case they both need to fill in. Poppy (Rebecca Bryson) is sickened to learn of Lloyd’s relationship with Brooke (Erica Mejos) and the crew’s anxiety about Selsdon (Angel Perez) and his alcoholism eventually pays off.

Many plays feature the play-within-a-play as a storytelling device. “Hamlet” is one of the most well known examples for the scene featuring “The Murder of Gonzago,” which Hamlet uses to witness his uncle’s guilt.

“Noises Off” is not so much a scathing critique of the most odious habits of actors, directors and managers, but a loving roast playfully teasing those creative folk who love the theater.

Frayn exaggerates certain stereotypes in the same way actors exaggerate the accents of their role while on stage. If the acting is too subtle, it will be difficult for the audience to figure out. Theater people are known to be over-the-top, so characterizing actors in a play means their quirks are going to become more extreme.

For the Southwestern College production directed by Ruff Yeager, the manic energy of putting on a performance is channelled through the actors.

Warren is very entertaining as the beleaguered director Lloyd, but is quite villainous as well. His introduction into the play itself was surprising as Warren was sitting in the audience and only joined when Dotty (Dagmar Fields) misses her mark.

For a moment, it is like the voice of God booming down to yell at the mortals for not listening to Him. Later, Lloyd further plays up the God-connection when things go wrong during the dress rehearsal before opening.

“I’m starting to know what God felt like when he sat out there in the darkness creating the world,” said Lloyd as he took a pill.

“What did he feel like, Lloyd, my love?” asked Belinda (Sabrina Boudreaux).

“Very pleased he’d taken his Valium,” Lloyd said.

“Noises Off” at times hits hard at actors’ bad habits, including forgetting lines, missing marks and violent rage. When Fredrick questions his motive for carrying his bag around the set, Lloyd shoots him down.

“Freddie, love, I’m telling you — I don’t know. I don’t think the author knows. I don’t know why the author came into this industry in the first place. I don’t know why any of us came into it.”

Act 2 of “Noises Off” is the midway point of the “Nothing On” production during a morning matinee, and the quality of the play has already deteriorated much like the relationships between the actors, director and stage managers. Brooke threatens to walk out, Poppy reveals she is pregnant with Lloyd’s child and the actors actively sabotage each other over romantic rivalries.

In Act 3 of “Noises Off,” the fictional play has become a mess. Dotty is barely in character and lamenting how her career has led her to this play.

Selsdon found some liquor and disappeared. Both Tim and Lloyd prepare themselves to cover for Selsdon, but in the fray three burglars end up on stage.

Fields, an English professor at SWC, said she had been in many other British plays before but “Noises Off” was one of the most difficult.

“This one is amazingly complicated,” Fields said. “It’s British farce, so it’s very specific. A lot of pants being dropped, door slamming, mistaken identity, just a million things.”

This complicated play requires the actors to hit specifically timed marks. Fields said that the audience would wake up and realize the ridiculousness of the spectacle they are witnessing should the timing is off.

“The thing that is really cool about comedy is it’s like playing volleyball with a Ping-Pong ball,” said Fields. “It has to effectively bounce from person to person. If someone is particularly ‘on,’ you’re going to be on, too.”

Fields said that the Lamb’s Players Theatre had two weeks to rehearse, just like the characters of “Noises Off” had to prepare for “Nothing On.” The Coronado-based theater group’s run of the play lasted a month, but even professionals have accidents.

“The Lamb’s Players cast had four injuries that I know of,” Fields said. “Their Garry fell down the stairs (every night) and somehow gashed his upper arm and wasn’t sure until he felt blood running down his arm. Their Belinda broke two fingers, you’re never sure how that is going to happen.”

Fields said there were some injuries on the SWC production, and in a way “Noises Off” is lightly cursed in a similar way to The Scottish Play.

Luckily, nobody died or was murdered on stage.

“Noises Off” is a play for all those people dedicated to putting on a show despite the world falling down around them.