Theater Review : ‘Noises’: Ins and Outs of Farce Onstage and Off

Robin Housemonger’s “Nothing On” is typical British farce, taking place in a country home with the owner presumably away, beginning with the entrance of a randy house agent and a gorgeous blond bimbo. But the housekeeper is there and, eventually, the owner and his wife--and a burglar with an amazing secret. And the requisite profusion of doors for the characters to dash in and out of, in various stages of panic and undress.

What sets “Nothing On” apart is the moment when the director stops everything to correct who is carrying what prop and why it’s in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Suddenly it becomes Michael Frayn’s delicious uber -farce “Noises Off,” which follows a third-rate touring company from its January opening night in Weston-Super-Mare to a February performance at the Theatre Royal, Goole, and finally to its closing in April at Stockton-on-Tees.

The trip is hilarious, and Frayn’s adherence to the strict farce form is not only admirable but impeccably executed. Acts 1 and 3 are on the set of “Nothing On.” Act 2, when farce demands suspension of disbelief as the action explodes in all directions, takes place backstage during a performance. The number of slamming doors is increased, as are the bitter rivalries among the cast members, their devious amours and their inability to cope with each other and the performance.

Julie Allardice’s scenic design at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, a two-story stage set (which must be reversible for Act 2), plus a full backstage, is impressive in its attention to detail and the absolute realism so necessary to comedy, particularly to farce.

For the most part, Eli Simon’s direction approaches the same realism, and when it does, players both on and backstage are very funny. Only rarely do they try to be funny, restricting their laughs. Simon at times lets a tempo lag and misses laughs, as in the Act 2 routine when a whiskey bottle is passed frantically from actor to actor--a clockwork bit of Marxian business that could be twice as fast.

Anne James Dreiling as Dotty Otley, who is backing the show and also playing the housekeeper, goes slightly overboard in both roles, which can be excused when recalling Dorothy Loudon’s outrageous mugging in the original American production. Dotty and her cohorts are in a third-rate company, after all, the dregs of Brit actors, and their excesses are mostly credible.

David Anderson, as the company’s comedy man playing the homeowner, veers safely from overdoing the camp and rings absolutely true, as does Tyler Layton as the company’s ditzy blonde who plays the ditzy blonde in the play-within-the-play.

If Laura Mulrenan is not as punk-rocky, and not as bored, as she could be as assistant stage manager and nymphet Poppy, she does move quickly and is attractive enough to make the director’s interest viable. Todd Denning’s alcoholic old trouper, who plays the burglar, is doddering and dense enough to be recognizable to most any actor who ever has worked with his ilk.

*

The style that makes farce work--the dead seriousness in the face of chaos, the honesty that gets the laughs--is captured by the actors in the show’s most difficult roles. Charles Huston’s director doesn’t have many laugh lines but gets laughs by being real. Demetra Tseckares in another practically gagless role, as the company gossip who helps foment internal battles, is deliciously honest in the joy her havoc wreaks.

Jeff Renard, as the put-upon stage manager, is amazingly adept at physical comedy and has an understated comic flair that always works. As the leading man, who is having a May-September tumble with Dotty Otley, John Gloria gets the most laughs with an offhand, laid-back approach to his physical battering and his subtle, pompous anger in jealousy; he gets laughs with his reactions, and that’s an art.

* “Noises Off,” Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. Ends Sunday. $13-$15. (714) 854-4646 or (714) 824-2787. Running time: 3 hours.

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Anne James Dreiling: Dotty Otley/Mrs. Clackett

John Gloria: Garry Lejeune/Garry Tramplemain

Tyler Layton: Brooke: Ashton/Vicki

David Anderson: Frederick Fellowes/Philip Brent/Sheikh

Demetra Tseckares: Belinda Blair/Flavia Brent

Todd Denning: Selsdon Mowbray/Burglar

Jeff Renard: Tim Allgood/Company Stage Manager

Laura Mulrenan: Poppy Norton-Taylor/Asst. Stage Mgr.

Charles Huston: Lloyd Dallas/Director

A Drama at UCI, School of the Arts, UC Irvine production of a farce by Michael Frayn, directed by Eli Simon. Scenic design: Julie Allardice. Costume design: Felicia Pam Libbin. Lighting design: Tom Ruzika. Stage manager: Jennifer Magill.