Noises Off (2017)
Everyone Gets Caught In The Act!
What does one get when one adds a racy script from an English bedroom farce called Nothing On, an inept but amorous play company, and its frustrated director to an elaborate rotating set? One gets three first acts of the funniest play one has seen in quite some time. Did you ever wonder what went on backstage at that high-end show you got all dressed up to enjoy in its fancy theatre? Noises Off exposes it all, and those of us who have seen it here or anywhere else will never watch a play in quite the same way ever again.
The Making the Magic collection offers a rare peek backstage at a bit of what went into the fabrication of the immense two-story set that kept playgoers in their seats through intermissions just to watch it spin between production and backstage environments. The cast was also the crew; everyone who wasn’t onstage for the night – double-cast performers on their off-nights, and even the sound and lighting crew – jumped into position at the end of each act to do their choreographed, well-rehearsed ballet of disconnecting, spinning, nudging and reconnecting the multiple pieces of the magical world, and cleaning up sardines and liquor spills, to ready the set for the next first act.
Many thanks to the highly-talented and dedicated cast, crew and directors who brought us this uproariously funny Michael Frayn creation. No actors were critically injured during construction or performances, but not one missed going home late in the evenings covered in Styrofoam, sawdust, primer, bangs, bruises and/or paint. Rumor has it that some of the paint we saw opening night was still wet…
The BLAKE HIGH SCHOOL STAGE COMPANY!
Enjoy the photos, and be sure to catch Noises Off if it comes to a town near you! Check BlakeStage.org for news of upcoming Blake Stage Company and Blake Children’s Theatre productions that are the best entertainment buy in the land.
Trivia challenge: Spot Rapunzel’s tower from Into The Woods on the set.