As an avid theatre lover, I was thrilled to sit in on a rehearsal of the Hawker College production of ‘Noises Off’ by Michael Frayn.
‘Noises Off’ follows the story of a touring theatre troupe rehearsing for a production of ‘Nothing On’ in three stages: the dress rehearsal, the opening performance and a performance in shambles towards the end of a run.
Throughout Frayn’s play, many mishaps occur on stage. The cast can’t remember their lines, they mix up their blocking and misplace props – with hilarious consequences.
I got to watch a rehearsal of Act 3 – the part where the show is in shambles. While I was trying to figure out what was going on without knowing the first two acts, I noticed moments when things went wrong in the right way, showing a glint of the show’s exciting potential.
The script gives the actors great material to work with and provides each of the talent room to breathe and show their skills. The burglar scene near the end of the show was a highlight for me, and their ability to bounce lines off each other was proof of the cast’s abilities.
I managed to grab a few of the cast members to have a chat before they got back into rehearsing.
Lex Maddocks plays Brooke Ashton, a young inexperienced American actress who pays no attention to other performers; and a second character, Vicki, an English woman working for Inland Revenue and trying to woo a real estate agent.
She shared with me just how committed she’s been to this role.
“I broke my ankle during auditions, I forgot that you can’t jump off the stage in platform heels. I didn’t notice though and I still got the part,” Maddocks says.
“It’s a very fun play to rehearse, because it’s essentially about actors trying to rehearse a play, so it does get very meta in that sense when we’re all quoting the lines to ourselves while doing the lines in the show, in the other show.”
The role of Selsdown Mowbray/Burglar is played by Toby Breach. He told me his offstage character is drunk and clueless, doesn’t really know what he’s doing and always misses his cues.
“It’s a really complicated show when it comes to cues, considering we’re watching the same play within a play three times in a row,” Breach laughs.
“So I say the same line three times across the whole show and it’s hard for me to remember which one is which sometimes. There’s a lot of context clues though because something is always going wrong and I’ll remember [the cue from that].
“It’s the sort of play that gets stuck in your mind because you’re hearing the same play within a play so much.
“It’s a lot of fun watching how this play will go wrong and how everyone will miss lines and break things.”
While watching the rehearsal, it was clear there was an environment of trust and mutual respect between director Sian Harrington and the cast.
Harrington guides the cast with an eye for detail, and a key focus on drawing out the play’s humour.
Harrington can pat herself on the back for the casting as it’s filled with hidden gems of talent.
The cast bring their unique characters to life masterfully, and the show wouldn’t be the same without it.
Stepping back from the cast and taking a moment to look at the set, I was impressed by how something so simple could have such an impact on the mood of the show.
This set builds the audience’s expectations and understanding of what this show is. The stairs and doors of the set also allow for excellent moments of comedy to form.
As opening night draws close, the cast are busy rehearsing lines, forgetting props (purposefully), standing in the wrong place (also purposefully) and putting on a brilliant show.
‘Noises Off’ promises a truly funny show where absolutely nothing goes wrong. Except for when it’s meant to.
Original photos by Tia Priest-Willimott